Under the Burning Sun: The Beginning of the End
by Xiomari
Summary: (Minimally AU) Tells the story of the last 27 years of Planet Vegeta's existence. The tsufuru invade the saiyan's home world, prompting them to unify underneath Vegeta, the son of a tribal leader. After years of war, the saiyans successfully overthrow their would-be conquerors. But their freedom may be short lived when Frieza takes a sudden interest in the saiyans.
1. Prologue

**Summary:** This is the story of the last 27 years of Planet Vegeta's existence. The tsufuru invade the saiyan's home world, prompting them to unify under Vegeta, the young son of a saiyan tribal leader. After years of war and struggling to fight against the tsufuru technology, the saiyans turn the tide and overthrow their would-be conquerors. But their new found freedom may be short lived when Frieza takes a sudden interest in the saiyan race.

**Author's Notes:  
**(1) This story lies somewhere between being an Alternate Universe and the Canon Universe. This is closely based on source/canon material. The events of this story have been fitted into the canon time line as best as possible. The major difference between what is considered canon and this fan fiction is that in this story, the tsufuru have invaded the saiyans' home world, Planet Plant, instead of the opposite where the saiyans had been the foreigners.  
(2) This story is not to be confused as being a direct prequel to _Silver Linings of a Distant Sky_. In many ways, many of the events of _Under the Burning Sun_ have occurred in the same alternate universe as portrayed in _Silver Linings_, but the big difference is that there will be no saiyan-born Bulma in _Burning Sun_. The date/location/nature of Bulma's birth is where the time line diverged between canon events and the alternate events of _Silver Linings_.  
(3) Some background information for saiyan culture can be found on my author's page. It is not necessary to read this information to understand this story, but it is recommended. It is there for reference if more insight is desired.

**Disclaimer:** Copyrighted material contained within this fan fiction is the property of its respected owners. No profit is to be made from this fan fiction. This fan fiction is for entertainment purposes only.

* * *

_Under the Burning Sun:  
__The Beginning of the End_

_~ Prologue ~_

_God bless us everyone  
__We're a broken people living under loaded gun  
__And it can't be outfought  
__It can't be outdone  
__It can't be outmatched  
__It can't be outrun  
_**from **_**The Catalyst**_**, by Linkin Park**

_Age 737, Summer Season_

Their world was under attack. Frieza's forces had come in the middle of the night, their pods raining down upon the planet's surface like a meteor storm. The saiyan capital city of Verdur had taken much damage already. More than half of the city was in ruin. The first structure that had been destroyed was the spaceport, ensuring that the saiyans would be trapped on their world. The skyscrapers came next. They had been easy targets. Now, many of them lay crumpled on the ground, collapsed under their weight after suffering severe structural damage. Buildings burned throughout the city's residential districts, smoking the citizens out of their homes. Beyond Verdur City, the countryside was awash in an angry orange glow as wild fires greedily consumed crops.

Smoke filled the sky, blotting out the stars and the distant horizon. The smoke reflected the light from the angry red inferno raging below it. Orange embers floated skywards, swirling aloft upon the air currents, a peaceful contradiction to the chaos that ensued all around them. But these embers were just as sinister as the fires that they had been born from; they started new fires upon anything unfortunate enough to catch them. The smoke and ash carried the acrid scent of scorched buildings and the sickening smell of seared flesh... the flesh of the deceased, of those who had been crushed beneath the rubble.

Battles waged in the skies above. Men and women, military and civilian, the young and the old; all who were able answered the call to battle. Most had responded so quickly that they hadn't had the opportunity to change out of sleeping attire. Some had disregarded their modesty altogether and fought in the same manner as they had slept: in the nude. Ki beams lit up the night sky as they blasted through the air or exploded upon their targets. The sounds of battle rang through the heavens. Explosions echoed and shock waves rippled. Fighters called out commands, shouted attacks, grunted in pain. Fallen bodies, both saiyan and alien, crashed into the ground with sickening thuds.

Those who were too young, too old, or too injured to fight sought safety, finding cover among the shrapnel and debris. Often times, they had to pick their way past the corpses of their fellow saiyans; their coworkers, their neighbors, their families. When they could, they gave assistance to those who were unable to help themselves. Their skin and hair were covered in soot. Horrific injuries marred their faces and bodies. Children bore gruesome burns. The elderly bled from terrible wounds. Many of them would not likely survive their injuries.

From the royal estate overlooking the capital, Princess Aleguu of House Vegetus watched in silent horror. Ordered to remain at the estate, she could do nothing but stare helplessly as her subjects were butchered. Her left hand rested gently over her mouth as she desperately tried to comprehend what she was witnessing. Her heart thumped in her chest. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Her stomach churned with nausea. She felt weak, as if her knees would give out at any moment. But she remained just strong enough to stay on her feet.

Aleguu's guardsmen stood dutifully behind her. No doubt, the images of the cowardly attack tugged at their fighting instincts and their need for vengeance. But they remained by her side, sworn to protect her and her precious charges. In her right arm, she held tightly onto her infant daughter Lele. Behind her, at the other side of the room, far from the balcony on which she stood watch, a pair of twin cubs dozed, blissfully unaware of the tragedy taking place beyond the palace walls.

As Aleguu soaked in the awful scene, only one thought kept repeating in her mind. _Vegeta should never have agreed to join Frieza's army._ Because of her brother's greed for technology and strength, the saiyans had been reduced to warmongers and mercenaries. Under Frieza, they had become butchers, taking pleasure in the misery and destruction of other races. They preyed upon those who were unable to defend themselves against invaders. As planet purgers, the saiyans had become no better than the tsufuru that had nearly wiped them out less than ten cycles ago.

Aleguu lamented that this _New Way_ would have shamed and horrified their ancestors. The saiyans had once cherished the virtues of courage and honor, fighting only for just causes such as land rights, mating privileges, and the survival of their tribes and family packs. They did not wage war for trivial things such as riches or the simple glory of battle. How quickly the _Old Way_ had been forgotten! Aleguu was filled with shame and guilt, blaming herself for being unable to prevent the desecration of their sacred ways. As sister to the king, was it not her duty, her responsibility, to help him remain on a path of virtue?

She had failed in that duty.

After joining the World Trade Organization, their once mighty race became bound to Frieza in servitude. For ten long cycles, they had fought and bled and died for their freedom from the tsufuru and as soon as they had been liberated, they had willingly placed themselves back into bondage. The disheartening fact about that was that the vast majority of the saiyans were ignorant of their enslavement, blinded by their blood-lust and thirst for battle. Therein lie a twisted irony; the saiyans were ignorant of their own oppression while at the same time they were being used to oppress the natives of other worlds. Aleguu helplessly wondered how she could have possibly enlightened her people to their subjugation when she had to compete against a new culture where annihilating weaker races was celebrated.

The saiyans had grown arrogant in their _New Way_. They had quickly come to see themselves as Frieza's favored warriors. They had adopted an attitude of invincibility as they conquered world after world in his name. They should have known better. They should have known that Frieza would eventually betray them. That he would one day come to their planet and wipe their world clean of their race just as they wiped other planets clean. Aleguu slowly shook her head with dismay. Perhaps this was the punishment wrought by the God d'Jitaba Saiya, unleashed upon them for their greed, their crimes, and their sins.

Aleguu cursed her brother and his stubbornness. King Vegeta should have heeded the Seer's warning. The saiyans might have stood a chance if he had. They could have prepared themselves for Frieza's invasion. They could have sent ships full of evacuees into space while they waited for whatever outcome came to pass; whether Frieza's forces would be defeated or not. Instead, Vegeta had scoffed at Bardock. He had sent him away in ridicule. And now, as a result of Vegeta's pigheadedness, the saiyans would be lucky if they survived the night.

Vegeta hadn't always been so corrupt, Aleguu reminisced sadly. There was once a time when he was a noble warrior, a courageous leader, and a brilliant tactician. Before he was ever named king, the only thing he desired was the liberation of the saiyans from the threat of the tsufuru. Of his many accomplishments, two of the greatest had been the unification of the saiyans under one banner and then the march to victory. Those two achievements were worth celebrating and remembering. They spoke of a destiny guided favorably by the hands of the Goddess d'Mele gu Saiya. But Vegeta had forsaken the blessings of the God and the Goddess when he signed that treaty with the demon prince of Arcose.

What exactly had happened to Vegeta that set him on this path? When and where had everything gone wrong? When had he changed from the savior of the saiyan race into the catalyst for its demise? What had led him to make the fatal decision that had led to tonight's events? Aleguu thought back on their lives together, reflected upon everything that had led up to this moment in time. She supposed that, in the end, there was no single moment that had taken them down this road. Their impending fate was the result of an accumulation of life experiences, of a long series of events that dated back to a time when they were no more than cubs.

Theirs is the story of the beginning of the end...

* * *

**Story Notes:  
**Verdur City – from _verdura_, spanish for vegetable.  
Aleguu – from _legume_.  
Lele – also from _legume_.  
d'Jitaba Saiya – loosely derived from _vegetable_, he is the "War God Saiyan." More info available on my author's page.  
d'Mele gu Saiya – also derived from _legume_, she is the "Mother of Saiyans." More info available on my author's page.

**Final Author's Note:** From this point onward, King Vegeta will be referred to as simply Vegeta.


	2. Chapter 1

_Under the Burning Sun:  
__The Beginning of the End_

_~ Act I – The Tsufuru Invasion ~_

_~ Chapter One ~_

_Age 710, Summer Season_

Aleguu carefully trekked through the lush forests of her tribe's expansive land. She was alone, although it was not unusual for the five-cycles-old girl to venture off on her own. As a matter of fact, it was not unusual for _any_ cub of that age to wander through the forests without adult supervision – so long as they remained within their tribe's territory. But as the chieftain's second child and only daughter, Aleguu's safety was of greater concern than that of other cubs and therefor she was not often allowed to leave the safety of the village alone. That didn't stop her from trying, however. And today was one of many incidents where she had managed to sneak off without detection.

The small girl came to a slow stop and crouched down low to inspect the ground at her feet. She brushed her spiky black bangs away from her eyes in order to get a better view, momentarily revealing a distinguished widow's peak – a family trait inherited from her father's lineage. She studied the soggy leaves that had blanketed the forest floor during the previous harvest season, discovering a single indentation in the otherwise undisturbed debris. The leaves had been matted down into the soft soil laying underneath in that one particular spot, a spot that was too obscure in shape to identify the creature that had created it. Aleguu set her dagger down beside the print and gingerly plucked a fragile, half deteriorated leaf from its rotting brethren. She brought it to her nose and drew in its scent. It smelled of earth and decomposition. But it also held the scent of her prey. When she caught the odor she had been hoping for, a smile spread across her pink lips and the tip of her tail twitched in excitement.

_I almost got you now,_ she thought with glee as she discarded the leaf and retrieved her dagger, a weapon crafted of bone and wood. She rose back up to her full height – which was not very tall at all – and adjusted her leather trousers back into place. The leggings had been passed down to her from her older brother Vegeta and she had yet to fully grow into them. Her fur-lined tunic had also been inherited from her sibling, but that didn't threaten to fall off of her like the trousers did. Her father had suggested to her several times that he could have new clothing crafted for her, clothing more befitting of her gender. But she was adamant about wearing her brother's outgrown attire; she absolutely adored Vegeta. She wrapped her tail around her waist to secure her pants and then quietly stalked away in the direction her prey had headed.

* * *

High up in a tree, Vegeta lounged in the crook of a branch and its trunk. He lay on his back, left foot against the trunk, right foot hanging over the side, both arms behind his head, and tail wrapped around the branch beneath him to secure him to his perch. His eyes were closed as he relaxed in the cool morning breeze that served to alleviate the sultry day. The climate during the summer was typically very hot and because it followed the constant rains of the monsoon season, it was also very humid. Vegeta preferred to relax in the forest far from the village on days like these, feeling that it was far too hot to do his chores, even if that day's chores were meant to help prepare for that night's festivities.

The eight-cycles-old cub contented himself with the sounds of the forest. The leaves whispered to one another as they danced on the soft wind. Birds sang to each other and insects buzzed lazily as they carried about their business. A gently flowing brook somewhere nearby, but out of sight, gurgled serenely. If there was any one activity that Vegeta preferred to do most, it was doing absolutely nothing while soaking in the sounds of nature. But the relaxation he had been enjoying was about to be shattered into pieces.

"Oi, Vegeta," came the voice of his male companion from above him. "This is boring! We should go _do_ something."

Vegeta sighed with annoyance. "Oh? And what should we do, Nappa?"

The older boy was quiet for a moment as he tried to conjure up an activity that his younger friend wouldn't object to. Nappa typically relied on Vegeta to do the decision making, so when the latter had left it up to the former to make a suggestion, he was at a loss for ideas.

The prolonged silence drove at Vegeta's curiosity and eventually prompted him to open an eye to look at his comrade. Nappa was hanging upside down by his knees from a branch slightly higher up than the one Vegeta was lounging on. His arms were crossed and his head was bowed in concentration, but had the effect of making him look like he was pouting rather than thinking. Under the reverse effects of gravity, the taller boy's short, dark brown hair hung limply from his scalp. His face was starting to turn a deep red, either from the blood rushing to his head or from the level of concentration he was committing to the act of deep thought.

Vegeta laughed at his friend's appearance. "Nappa, your head is going to explode if you do not stop that!"

The nine-cycles-old cub's expression shifted from concentration to one of confusion. Stop doing what? his expression seemed to say. While Vegeta continued to chortle, Nappa righted himself and instantly the color of his face began to return to normal. The younger boy's merriment eventually died down.

"We should go hunting!" Nappa finally suggested.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "No." He _really_ didn't feel like doing anything strenuous. If he had, he would've stayed in the village and be put to work.

Nappa protested. "Why not? It would at least give us an excuse for coming out here..."

The shorter saiyan sat up and looked his friend in the eye. "Did it not occur to you that we do not have the proper weapons with us for hunting?"

"Well, no-"

"And if we make a kill, how will we get it back to the village? We are too far away to carry anything back by ourselves."

This time, the older boy _did_ pout and looked away from his companion. "Then _you_ think of something," he grumbled. His tail lashed in annoyance. He didn't understand why Vegeta could be so difficult sometimes.

The cracking of a branch echoed through the forest, catching the attention of both boys. They were instantly quiet. For a moment, they were filled with mixed emotions of curiosity and trepidation. They feared that they had been discovered in the midst of their unapproved jaunt into the forest. Stealthily, they shifted their positions high up in their tree so they could turn in the direction of the disturbance. Emerging from a thick copse of trees about a hundred feet away, emerged a small girl.

"Well, damn," Nappa commented softly as they watched the girl-cub carefully pick her way along an invisible trail. "She has got to be a better tracker than half of the hunters _and_ the warriors combined." He was truly impressed that at such a young age, the girl had developed a keen sense for tracking her prey. It was as if she had been born with the ability.

"Quiet," Vegeta admonished. "She has not found us yet."

They silently watched as the girl paused by their tree, forty feet beneath them, and then continued onward until she disappeared into another cluster of trees. As soon as she was out of sight, Vegeta relaxed back into a recumbent position as if he were completely unconcerned about the girl. He was mildly annoyed that she had successfully followed them this far. He thought he had concealed his and Nappa's tracks well enough to prevent this very situation. The girl often stuck to him like tree sap, so it was rare that he could ever get a moment away from her. Because of the sullen attitude he felt over his failure to avoid her (and the girl's uncanny success at finding him), he didn't bother to stop her from wandering off on her own.

Nappa, however, didn't share his companion's lack of concern. "Vegeta... Do you think it is okay to let her wander away?"

The flame-haired child waved away the other one's concern. "She will be okay." _She shouldn't have followed us out here,_ were his actual thoughts.

Nappa remained skeptical, likely due to Vegeta's flippant reassurance. "Are you sure?"

The younger boy opened his eyes and sat up. "Yes! She made it all the way out here on her own, right? If she can do that, then she will be fine."

The taller cub started to cave into his friend's persuasion, but voiced one last protest. "The Chieftain will not be happy if something happens to her..."

"Then my father should not have allowed her to wander off."

But Vegeta realized that that was a weak argument. His father, the chieftain of their great-tribe, was a very busy man. And on a holy day such as today, it meant that he was far busier than usual. He couldn't really fault his father for being unable to watch the girl every single moment, thus allowing her to slip away as soon as the opportunity had presented itself.

Vegeta's thoughts were interrupted by a stone ricocheting off of a space along the tree trunk in between himself and Nappa. Puzzled by the disturbance, the boys looked downward to find the source of the projectile and discovered that the girl had returned. She was looking pointedly at them with a triumphant expression. She had another stone in her hand and had been ready to throw it as well, but ceased as soon as the boys' attention had fallen upon her. She dropped her remaining ammunition.

Vegeta scowled. "Aleguu! Did you just throw a rock at us?"

"Noooo..." she drawled. "I threw _four_ at you. Only the last one came close to hitting you."

He sighed. _What an annoyance._ "Go home, Guu-ber."

The girl's gleeful expression soured. "Do not call me that! My name is _not_ Guu-ber!" She stomped her foot as if to emphasize her command.

Vegeta rolled away from her, putting his back on his branch once again. "Why are you out here anyway?"

Aleguu's pout melted as she remembered the purpose for her voyage. "I came out here to find you."

"And so you have. Good job. Now you can leave," he patronized.

She ignored him. "I came to tell you that father is very sore at you. He was looking for you earlier. And Nappa's father was looking for him, too. You two are really going to get it when you get back."

Vegeta opened his eyes halfway as he listened to his sister's warning. If he was honest with himself, he knew that his absence would have been noticed sooner or later. He had simply expected, or hoped, that they wouldn't be missed until later. Much later. And now he felt guilty, too, because he had dragged Nappa along and now his comrade was in just as much trouble. But the flame-haired boy suppressed his guilt. If their absence had already been noticed, then there was nothing he could do to change it. He would worry about his father's wrath when they returned to the village and not a moment sooner.

"Oi, Vegeta, maybe we _should_ head back," Nappa suggested with a hint of concern.

The shorter cub ignored his partner-in-crime. "Aleguu?"

"Yes, big brother?"

"Did father send you out here to come find us?"

His question was met with silence. He turned over to look down upon the five-cycles-old girl. Her gaze was averted as she avoided the question. He knew his sister too well to know what her aversion meant. It meant that she had been made aware of having made a blunder, but was unwilling to admit to it.

"He did not," Vegeta concluded.

Aleguu's eyes snapped up to meet her brother's. "No, but when I heard that he was cross with you, I wanted to find you so that you would not be in as much trouble."

"But he does not know that you have left the village, does he?" Vegeta continued to interrogate.

"No," came her meek reply.

The younger boy growled with agitation, but with his adolescent voice, the sound was hardly threatening. "Damn it, Guu-ber. Father is going to blame me when he learns that you are gone." Whenever their father's attention was being demanded by important matters, it often fell to Vegeta to be responsible for Aleguu. Had the flame-haired boy not shirked his duties, his sister wouldn't have left the safety of the village in search of him.

Feeling ashamed for her lack of foresight, the girl didn't protest the use of her nickname. "I am sorry, Vegeta."

The flame-haired cub sighed; his annoyance instantly deflating. He could never remain upset with her for very long. "Do not worry about it. You did not know."

"So you will come back to the village now?" she asked.

Vegeta appraised his sister's nervous fidgeting. He couldn't make it _that_ easy for her. So he said, "I will make a deal with you. If you can climb up here to where me and Nappa are, then we will go back with you."

Aleguu began to pout. "But, Vegetaaaa! You know I cannot climb very good!"

"Then I guess me and Nappa are going to stay up here all day." He turned over onto his back and waited.

The five-cycles-old girl waged a war with herself. Should she go back, alone, or should she attempt to climb the tree knowing that she'd not likely reach her brother's perch? Either way was a losing situation. But after a few moments of contemplation, she decided that she should at least make an attempt to reach her brother. After all, she hadn't come all the way out here only to return without her sibling. Aleguu stuffed her bone dagger in between her hip and her tail which was coiled around her waist. Then she approached the lowest branch of the tree. She reached up, grabbed hold, and struggled to hoist herself onto the limb.

Nappa watched the girl's slow progress. Feeling a small amount of pity for her, he said quietly, "Vegeta, this is kind of mean. She will not make it all the way up here."

"I know that, Nappa."

"So why are you making her do it? Why not just go back?"

Vegeta looked as his friend. "We will head back soon, whether she makes it up here or not. I just wanted a few more minutes."

Nappa nodded. He cast his gaze downward once more to watch Aleguu as she carefully navigated the tree limbs. At about fifteen feet up, she found herself in a predicament. She had climbed to a branch that was not within reach of the branches above it. Her only choice was to either give up and climb back down, or jump to the closest branch and hope that she could grab it and climb up. The eldest boy watched her as she calculated her next move.

An unfamiliar noise from the distance drew the boys' attentions. A gentle rumble had come on so slowly and so quietly, that they weren't aware of when it had first started, and so they had no idea how long this strange noise had been occurring when they finally did take notice. The noise was growing louder and closer. And it seemed as if it consisted of two sound waves competing with one another; one was a high pitch whine and the other was a deep and thunderous growl.

Vegeta bolted upright, immediately on alert. "Aleguu, stay where you are," he commanded.

"Okay," she obeyed as she placed a hand on the tree's trunk to steady herself.

"Come on, Nappa. Let us try to see what is making that sound."

The boys climbed higher and higher. They were far more skilled at climbing trees than the young girl below and they navigated the branches with ease. There was only a moment or two where the ascension became a little tricky, but they pressed on. It was not long before they had reached the canopy, nearly 200 feet above the forest floor. So high up, the wind had much more effect upon them than it did when they were closer to the ground. Up here, the tops of the trees swayed from side to side quite noticeably, and the boys had to cling tightly to the narrow branches that held them. But from so high up, they had an almost unhindered view of the overcast sky above and the forest below.

Meanwhile, the bizarre noise had grown intense. It was so loud that the boys could barely hear each other above it. They scanned the skies. They could hear it. But where was it? More importantly, _what_ was it? There was no sign of it, other than the deafening double pitch. The rumble-screech sounded as if it was coming from all directions, giving them no clue which way to look for it. And just when they wondered if the source of the noise even _could_ be seen, it suddenly revealed itself. Nappa had been the first to spot it.

"Vegeta!" he hollered over the commotion. "There!"

The flame-haired cub looked in the indicated direction. A spot in the gray clouds glowed orange as if a wild fire raged in the heavens. The discoloration grew brighter and brighter until a hole opened up in the overcast blanket. Downward blasting flames of red broke through the hole and following those flames was a creature most bizarre.

Vegeta and Nappa watched in silence, in awe, and in fear as the beast descended from the clouds. Neither of them had ever seen such a monster before. The thing appeared bird-like, but it was much larger than any bird they had ever seen. It was oddly shaped, like a long and narrow triangle, it's tail distinguished by only a small protrusion. The creature also lacked feathers; it's body was sleek and smooth. It was dark gray, almost black. Its wings were oddly juxtaposed towards the rear of its body, the tips of the wings pointed skyward. And from the underside of its wings came the fire.

Frozen with fascination and fright, the cubs watched as the monster's descent came to a slow halt. The way the creature stayed aloft seemed impossible since it didn't fly like any other bird they had ever seen. It appeared to float in the sky, motionlessly. Vegeta stared at the double inferno belching from its wings. He was fascinated by their frightening beauty. He guessed that those flames explained how it could fly. Its ability to create and command fire made it terrifying.

The flames that the creature controlled shifted slightly. Exacerbating Vegeta and Nappa's horror, the beast slowly began to turn clockwise. As its front – or what the boys assumed to be its front – came around to face them, they could see a bright beam of white light being cast from its... face? mouth? eyes? The light was cast downward, illuminating a point in the forest below it. The beam darted from point to point, as if it were inspecting – or searching for – something. Was this how the monster saw things? The source and purpose of this spell of light was a frightening mystery and Vegeta wasn't going to take any chances.

"Nappa! Hide!" he instructed as the demon's glowing face came around to face them directly.

The boys ducked down into the little bit of coverage they had, hoping that the tree's large yellow leaves, though sparse at this altitude, would be enough to conceal them. They peaked through the foliage, watching as the beast continued to rotate its orientation. All the while, it kept casting the spell that created the beam of white light. The creature kept turning. Its face stared in their direction for what seemed like several horrifying moments. And then it began to turn away.

Both boys breathed sighs of relief when it appeared that the beast's gaze had passed by without directing its spell towards them. When the creature's tail end was towards them again, the boys dared to rise from their hiding place. The white light blinked off. And again, the flames shifted under its command. Vegeta tensed with this new behavior. What was it going to do now? Suddenly, the fires grew hotter and brighter and with a sonic boom that nearly knocked the boys off of their branches, the demon shot off towards the northwest, disappearing in the distance. And just as quickly, the thunder-scream that had alerted them to its presence was gone.

Vegeta and Nappa carefully descended the tree. Their entire bodies trembled from fear and adrenaline, causing them to take much longer to climb down than it had taken them to climb up. Though they were visibly shaken, they did not speak of their fright. Aleguu had remained on her branch, waiting for the boys to come down. Even though she hadn't witnessed the monster bird, she was just as frightened as her male companions. She had curled herself up into a ball nestled in the crook between her branch and the tree trunk. Her hands were clamped over her ears and her eyes were clenched shut.

Aleguu had been too scared to move. She had remained in her crouched position, shutting out as much stimuli as she could. The only thing she could do was wish for her brother to return to her safely. She was slightly relieved when the boys reached her. She uncurled herself when she noticed Vegeta checking on her. When they determined that she was physically unharmed, the three cubs continued towards the ground. Upon reaching the forest floor, Vegeta collapsed onto his rear and Nappa sagged against the tree trunk. Aleguu stood in place, trembling.

"Vegeta... what was it?" she asked timidly.

The flame-haired boy was breathing heavily from his fright. He was still trying to figure out what they had just witnessed. What kind of creature was that? What animal or beast could move with such precision, could stay aloft so effortlessly, and could fly away with that much speed? What _thing_ possessed the elements of light and fire and could wield them with great mastery? Did the God and Goddess possess that much power? He dared not to even consider the possibility.

"I... I do not know..." Vegeta finally answered.

"It was a monster," Nappa supplied.

"No... a demon," Vegeta corrected. It was the only way he could explain to himself how such a being could have abilities that were capable of rivaling the Deities.

"I want to go home," Aleguu whimpered, her fear renewing itself. She wiped a tear from her eye with her wrist. She wanted to get as far away from there as quickly as possible. She feared that the monster might return. Or worse, that it might find them. Who knew what would happen to them if the beast discovered them?

The eldest cub was the first to regain some of his composure, pushing off from the tree. "We have to tell the Chieftain." He channeled his fear into a purpose; a duty towards the safety of their village.

Vegeta nodded and rose to his feet. "Yes. We must go back."

The trio rushed through the forest, heading back towards their village to the south. The trek back to their village was mostly a downhill journey; they traveled down the southern face of one of many mountains that served as the northern boundary of their land. Every fallen tree they had to climb over, every thicket of growth they had to circumnavigate, and every tumble they took delayed their return and exacerbated their fear. Soon, they found the creek that ran through their great-tribe's territory and followed it, knowing that it was a much easier path that would lead them directly to their village.

Nappa and Vegeta, much faster than Aleguu, took the lead. Occasionally, they would get a little bit ahead of the girl. But they didn't leave her too far behind nor did they leave her behind for more than a few moments. The boys had been spooked very thoroughly by what they had seen, and took extra precautions to make sure their youngest companion stayed within their protection. Only when the sounds and smells of their village could finally be detected, did they feel any iota of relief. The village would provide them a sense of safety.

It was late in the afternoon when the three cubs emerged from the forest. Their village lay within a large space clear of trees. The village proper sat at the southern edge of the Vegetabyl Great-Tribe's lands. Their territory was located between a wide river to the south and a mountain range to the north and west. The mountains to the north were not of the type that consisted of rocky peaks covered in snow. Instead, they were enormous rolling hills blanketed in lush and untamed forests. The range to the west however, were much taller and would often become snow covered during the winter season. Both mountain ranges were large and vast enough to serve as natural boundaries between territories.

Most of the village's open space was cultivated into farmland. A small creek – the very one that the cubs had followed home – divided the village center at the west end from the crops to the east. The village proper was devoted towards the creation of goods and services for the benefit of the village. Very few structures sat at ground level. Each of these served a specific purpose, either crafting goods or providing some form of service. Private dwellings, called _diyando_, were constructed high in the trees, connected to each other by a web of rope bridges and ladders.

Preparations for that night's Mid-Summer Feast were well underway. All eight of the village's fire pits were in use, smoking the carcasses of several large game animals. Dishes of various summer-ripe fruits were waiting on a giant buffet sitting beneath the shade of several trees. On another table were dozens of cheeses and loaves of bread. Wines that had been fermenting since the previous harvest season were being brought out. Felled trees for that evening's bonfire had been piled up alongside the river, waiting to be cut down into smaller pieces. In the very center of the village, the wooden sculptures of d'Jitaba Saiya and d'Mele gu Saiya had been polished. Offerings in exchange for good tidings had been left at the statues' feet.

Many of the villagers were already adorned in their festival attire. Women and girls were dressed in cloth tunics and sarongs dyed in various shades of blue and green – the colors of Mele. Men and boys wore cloth vests colored in reds and oranges – Jitaba's hues – over tanned leather leggings. Unmated females of breeding age decorated their hair with flowers to represent health and fertility. Meanwhile, unmated males wore twine necklaces accented with smooth stones to represent strength and virility.

Vegeta, Nappa, and Aleguu were still far too traumatized to acknowledge the goings-on of their fellow villagers. They ignored the flurry of activity. Greetings from some of the tribesmen fell on deaf ears. The delicious aromas that filled the air barely registered in the children's minds, despite their having missed lunch. Their sole focus was finding the chieftain and informing him of what they had seen.

The trio found him inside the _salarg_, the largest building of the village. It served multiple purposes; as a place where the villagers could hold meetings, as a place to gather for social events, as a place where the village leaders could have private discussions, and as a place where business could be conducted with traders from other great-tribes. In this case, it was being used for the latter.

The children quietly filed into the _salarg_ and waited near the entrance at the back of the building. Chieftain Tarve of Clan Vegetus stoically sat at the front of the _salarg_. To his right sat his war-adviser, Kailan of Clan Brassicas – Nappa's father. To Tarve's left was the village peace-maker, Alaria of Clan Rialaris. To Kailan's right, the elderly shaman Tabos was seated.

The four leaders of the Vegetabyl Great-tribe were bartering with three men from another great-tribe. Today, the visiting traders had come from the neighboring village to the west, beyond the mountains, from Steridyl territory. Their lands were rich in salt deposits, an essential mineral used for food preservation. But the salty soils within their territories hindered the growth of plants and any crops they planted yielded small harvests. In exchange for the salts that the Vegetabyl tribe needed to store food through the winter season, the Steridyl tribe received grains and vegetables.

When the three cubs entered the _salarg_, the representatives of the two tribes had just come to an agreement. Tarve sealed the deal with the visitors by shaking hands with them in the saiyan way – a grasping of each others' right forearms. The chieftain's councilors repeated the gesture with each trader. When they finished, Tarve addressed the visitors once more.

"I invite you to stay and rest before you return to your lands," he suggested. "Tonight is the Mid-Summer Feast. Join us in celebration."

After the traders expressed their appreciation, with a respectful bow, for the chieftain's hospitality, they made their way out of the _salarg_. The boys exchanged brief glances with each of the foreigners as they walked by. Aleguu kept her gaze averted. Usually, the cubs had a natural curiosity of travelers from other lands. But on this occasion, any interest in the foreigners was completely subdued by their fears. It was only after the traders were gone that Tarve acknowledged the presence of the three children.

"The three of you have much explaining to do," he growled.

For a brief moment, the cubs were frozen in place. The ire of their chieftain – and in the case of the younger two, their father – had them uncertain how to proceed. After that moment passed, however, it was Aleguu who made the first move. She sprung from her place and ran to her father, in desperate need of comfort.

"Faa!"

Tarve didn't deny his daughter in her moment of need and accepted her into his arms. He couldn't help but to notice how much she trembled. He ran his fingers through her short and soft spikes of hair as she sobbed quietly into his stomach. He had never seen the girl so upset before, and he was immediately suspicious. But it was Kailan who fired the question that was on the chieftain's mind.

"The girl is traumatized," the war-adviser observed. "What did you two do to her?"

The boys had followed Aleguu's path, but at a more reserved pace. Reacting to the accusation, Vegeta refuted, "We did not do _anything_ to her..."

"It was the demon," added Nappa.

Kailan scoffed, but Tarve halted him before he could scold the boys. The chieftain observed the boys' behavior. They fidgeted with nervous energy, adrenaline still coursed through their veins. Their faces were ashen, they wore shocked expressions. Tarve noted that the boys were just as terrified as the girl, if not more so. Their fear was so obvious, that he didn't even need to brush Vegeta's mind with his own to know so. But it wasn't their fear of him or their eminent punishment that had them so frightened. Something was definitely wrong. They had seen something... Or something had happened to them...

Concerned, Tabos approached the children. Despite his age, he had no need of a staff or cane to help him get around. "What did you say about a demon?" the shaman asked. As the spiritual leader of the village, word of a supernatural being was a great concern to him.

The boys took turns explaining what they had witnessed to the best of their abilities. Having never seen any creature like the one they had discovered, they found it difficult to describe it in terms that they were familiar with. The four adults listened intently, allowing the boys ample time to divulge as much information as they could remember. But the boys found that their description of the creature was severely inadequate, based upon their judgment of the elders' bewildered expressions.

Frustrated, Vegeta finally said, "We cannot describe it well. Let me show you, Father."

Tarve nodded. He opened up the kinship bond with his son. Vegeta's experience was powerful. Sights, sounds, and scents filled Tarve's mind. His son's fear became his own. Against his will, he trembled. When the vision ended, he closed off the link and took a moment to regain his composure. Then the chieftain shared most of the details with his councilors via their pack bond, but kept the magnitude of the cubs' emotional experience from being transmitted to them. The _salarg_ remained quiet long after the information had been shared. The chieftain and his councilors took a few more moments to digest the cubs' account.

Alaria broke the silence. "The noise that this creature emitted that you spoke of... Why did we not hear it here in the village if is that loud?" She wasn't skeptical nor did she doubt the boys' recollection of events, but she wished to better understand the creature that they had seen.

"We were not near the village," Aleguu mumbled. She had since peeled her face away from her father's stomach, but she remained clinging to his protective embrace.

Vegeta winced as his sister unintentionally blew them in. Seeing no other option, he elaborated. "We were at the north ridge."

Tarve stiffened. His concern was forgotten and replaced with ire. He emitted a deep growl of disapproval. His tail lashed angrily. "You took your sister to the boundary of our territory?"

Nappa only made the situation worse. "We did not take her with us. She followed us."

The chieftain was less pleased. "You allowed her to wander, _alone_, so near to our rival's lands?"

The flame-haired boy shifted uncomfortably beneath the councilors' disappointed looks. He muttered, "We are sorry. We did not know she would follow us."

"Of course she would follow you!" Kailan bellowed. "She is too young to know differently!"

"And we all can see how very fond of you she is, Vegeta," Alaria reminded. "It is only natural that she would desire to be at your side."

Aleguu attempted to come to her brother's defense. "Faa, it was my fault. I should have stayed here."

A small smile tugged at Tabos's lips. "How very loyal, that girl is. An admirable trait."

Tarve ignored the shaman's musings and continued to scold the boys. "I care not who is at fault. Blame does not change the fact that all three of you were dangerously close to enemy lands. What would you have done had you been captured? Or worse, killed? And now we must contend with flying beasts! What if that creature had seen you?"

The chieftain paused in his diatribe, taking a moment to subdue his anger. With a calmer voice, he explained, "You must not act upon your own selfish desires. You may have thought little of the consequences of your little adventure along the north ridge. But if you had been discovered, our enemies could have kept you as their hostages. They could have forced a ransom upon us for your continued survival. Do you realize the burden that could have been posed upon your tribesmen? You must consider the safety and survival of our great-tribe with every decision you will make during your lives."

The three cubs all nodded their understanding. Sensing that their scolding was now finished, the tension melted from their bodies. Nappa and Vegeta turned to leave their elders, suspecting that they still had other business to attend to. Aleguu remained behind, hesitant to leave the safety provided by her father. But before the boys could take more than a few steps, the chieftain stopped them.

"Since you two decided to abandon your duties this morning," he stated, "I have decided that you will chop the logs by the riverbank and stack them for tonight's fire."

Vegeta wanted to sulk and voice his displeasure at the punishment. But he held it back, knowing it was disrespectful towards his father and chieftain. Instead, he replayed his father's words through his head. Although none of them had gotten themselves into one of the hypothetical situations his father had described, he realized that they _had_ created a burden nonetheless upon their fellow villagers. In their absence, their duties had likely been reassigned to someone else to complete, placing a larger work load on another person or persons. With a sigh of defeat, the flame-haired cub realized that it was only fair that he and Nappa complete the punishment that the chieftain had doled out. The boys once again headed towards the exit, but were stopped once more when they reached the door.

"One more thing," Tarve spoke. "No one here shall speak of this creature to anyone outside of ourselves. As a matter of fact, you three cubs will not even speak of it to each other. You are to forget that it ever happened. You will leave the matter for myself and my advisers to handle. Understood?"

Synchronously, the children nodded their obedience. Vegeta was not happy with the order, however. He would obey his father and chieftain. But that didn't mean he would forget what he had seen. Nor did that mean that he wouldn't be constantly on alert should the creature return.

* * *

**Story Notes:  
**Vegetabyl – from vegetable.  
diyando – a derived contraction of the spanish words _buhardilla _(loft) and _nido _(nest). It is an elevated platform, loft, or room used for sleeping, typically circular in shape.  
salarg – a contraction of the spanish words _sala_ (hall) and _largo_ (long). A large, ground-level building/facility used for public gatherings or meetings.  
Tarve – sort of an anagram of vegetable, and a mix of Tarble and Vegeta.  
Vegetus – also from vegetable.  
Kailan – from kai-lan, the cantonese name for chinese kale.  
Brassicas – from _brassicaceae_, a family of plants that includes cabbages.  
Alaria – from _alaria esculenta_, an edible seaweed.  
Rialaris – from _alariaceae_, a family of kelp.  
Tabos – from tabasco pepper.  
Steridyl – from _asterids_, an unranked classification level of flowering plants.


	3. Chapter 2

_Under the Burning Sun:  
__The Beginning of the End_

_~ Chapter Two ~_

_Age 712, Rebirth Season_

The winter season had officially come to an end only a few days ago. Winters were not particularly harsh for the Vegetabyl Great-tribe. The weather was cool enough that the trees lost their leaves. Once or twice a winter, they would experience a trace amount of snowfall; never so much that it wouldn't melt within a day or two. Although their winters were colder than the other seasons, they were not unbearably so. But they still had to stock up their supplies to last through the cold season since crops would not grow and large game animals usually went into hibernation.

From the very first day of the rebirth season, the villagers were busy with the laborious task of preparing their farmland for that cycle's crops. On this particular day, the adults continued tilling the field while the cubs removed cumbersome rocks and stones. Because the crops would feed the entire village, all the members of the great-tribe were required to contribute, with the exception of the hunters who had already left the day before to go on the first hunt of the new cycle. Not even the great-tribe's leaders were exempt. Only the very youngest and the very oldest members were not expected to participate in the effort to produce food.

Chieftain Tarve walked south along the eastern edge of the field with Shaman Tabos. The village's spiritual leader had seen more cycles than any other member of the great-tribe. Tabos had been the village's shaman for so long that Tarve could not remember there ever being another shaman. Because of the shaman's age, the trek along the borders of the planting field was slow going. But the chieftain didn't mind. It gave him the opportunity to oversee the villagers' progress. Occasionally, one or a few of the tribe members would approach him and ask for his input. How much of the field should be allocated for grain? How much for vegetables? What types of vegetables should be planted this season and how much of each? And so on.

When the chieftain and the shaman reached the southeast corner of the field, they stopped. Inquiries from the villagers stopped as well. They gave their spiritual leader plenty of space, respecting the ritual he was about to perform. Tarve retrieved the last four fist-sized, polished stones from a pouch tied to his waist. Each stone had a different engraving on its surface; fertility, nourishment, nurture, and growth. He handed the stones, one by one, to Tabos.

As he had done previously with the other three corners of the field, Tabos knelt down onto one knee. He accepted each stone, one at a time. He took great care arranging them on the ground, forming a circle with the stones. The shaman then grabbed a fistful of soil and raised it to his forehead. He gave a silent prayer, beseeching d'Mele gu Saiya for a plentiful harvest this cycle. The previous day, he gave a similar prayer to d'Jitaba Saiya on behalf of the hunters, asking for a cycle of safe and successful hunting trips. After Tabos finished his prayer, he sprinkled the soil on the circle of stones and then slowly rose to his feet.

"It is done," the shaman announced. "Of course, we will not know if the Goddess will heed our prayers until the harvest season. However, if you do not wish a repetition of our struggles during this past winter, I highly suggest gifting the Deities with larger offerings to gain their favor."

Tarve nodded. "Thank you, Tabos. I will personally see to it that the offerings are made."

Tabos thanked the chieftain before heading back into the village proper alone. Tarve remained behind, taking a moment to view the full scope of the tilling activities. Almost immediately, his eyes fell upon his two children, halfway across the field. Like the other cubs, they were busy filling a tall wicker basket with upturned rocks.

Neither one seemed to be working too terribly hard at the task. As children were wont to do, they made a game of the chore, each in their own different way. Vegeta appeared to be taking his time while selecting rocks. Whenever he found one, he tossed it towards the basket from where he stood, testing to see from how far he could be successful. Aleguu, on the other hand, seemed more interested in the rocks themselves than getting them into the basket. She inspected each one she picked up and tossed the rejects into the basket. Occasionally she would find one that suited her fancy. She would enthusiastically show it to Vegeta who would humor her with an encouraging comment. And then she decided whether to put the stone in a small satchel strapped to her back or to discard it with the rest.

As Tarve watched his cubs, he reflected upon the changes in their behaviors since the incident with the strange demon-bird. Almost two full cycles had passed since the event. While no further sightings have occurred, the encounter had still left different impacts on Aleguu and Vegeta.

Before the experience, Aleguu had been very fond of her brother, following him where ever and whenever she could. But afterward, Tarve noticed that she had become literally attached to her sibling. She stuck close to his side. When the seven-cycles-old girl wasn't with Vegeta, she was under her father's feet. Unfortunately, her constant presence was becoming an annoyance. It was difficult to conduct village business with her constantly underfoot. On several occasions, the chieftain tried to leave the girl with extended members of their family clan, but she would have none of it. While Aleguu appeared perfectly fine and content within the presence of her father or brother, she became a terrified, whimpering mess whenever she was away from them.

Tarve worried for his daughter's sake, wondering if she would ever get over the anxiety issues she had developed. For several fortnights, anytime the girl-cub heard any loud noise, she would panic. A felled tree or the roar of a wild beast would trigger her flight mechanism. It didn't matter if she was with a family member or not. If she heard something loud and terrifying, she would immediately run off and seek a hiding place. Usually this was her family's diyando. Sometimes, she would hide in one of the ground level huts. Once in a great while, she would be found in the diyando of another member of the great-tribe.

The biggest problem with Aleguu's extreme fear was that she was unable to prevent the projection of this fear through the kinship bond with her father. While the chieftain was able to control his own reaction to such utter fright, her terror attacks came so sudden and unannounced that, at best, they were extremely distracting. At worst, they required him to dismiss himself from whatever business he had been conducting to go find her and reassert his reassurances to her.

If Tarve could identify at least _one_ improvement in Aleguu's behavior since the incident with the demon-bird, it was that she had left the village on her own not even one time. As a matter of fact, it had taken her several days to get her to enter the forest at all. The first few times she dared to venture beyond the village limits, she absolutely refused to do so without her father. Even then, she refused to go very far. She insisted on staying close enough to the village where she could either see, hear, or smell the sights, sounds, or scents of her home.

To the chieftain's relief, Aleguu regained her confidence little by little as time went by. Eventually, she didn't mind being left with other members of her clan when her father and brother were unable to watch over her. Loud noises, while they still startled her from time to time, did not drive her to find a place to conceal herself. And she became more confident, daring to venture further and further away from the village. She still refused to go out into the wilderness alone, but she no longer required the presence of several adult members of her great-tribe just to travel beyond the village proper.

Vegeta, on the other hand, acted as if nothing had happened. Tarve noted that outwardly, his son gave no indication that he had ever experienced the incident with the demon-bird. He carried on as he normally did prior to the event. He spent his days minding his chores, whatever they may be, depending on the season. On occasion, he attempted to get out of his responsibilities. But the chieftain observed that the boy didn't slack off as often as he used to.

Unlike Aleguu, Vegeta continued to venture into the forests surrounding the village. Tarve almost always knew when his son had wandered into the forests; the boy would unknowingly and subtly transmit feelings of relaxation and contentment when he did. Vegeta still valued the peace and serenity nature provided. For several fortnights after the incident, the only way the ten-cycles-old boy could get some time away from his sister was to take a stroll into the forest. Tarve envied his son and his moments of solitude.

The trees of the forest were Vegeta's playground. The chieftain knew that there were a handful of particular trees that his son fancied. The boy-cub could often times be found perched in one of them. Sometimes Nappa joined Vegeta during these retreats into the forest; sometimes not. Whether with company or without it, Vegeta was undeterred from leaving the safety of the village. Tarve took notice, however, that despite his son's frequent jaunts into the forest, the boy no longer traveled as far away as the boundaries of the great-tribe's territory.

Despite Vegeta's outward portrayal of a carefree child, Tarve knew his son had been affected more greatly by the demon-bird than he let on. For the first several seasons, the boy was constantly on alert. Like his sister, any loud or unusual noise grabbed his attention. To the chieftain's relief, these disturbances didn't drive Vegeta to flee like Aleguu did. But the boy would stop what he was doing and divert all of his attention to the source of the noise. Tarve knew that his son was analyzing the disruptions, likely comparing them to his memories of the demon-bird, and then dismissing them as false alarms. Tarve knew that Vegeta was watching for evidence of the creature's return. However, after eight seasons without any signs of the creature's existence, the boy's diligence had gradually diminished.

On a positive note, the chieftain was pleased that Vegeta appeared to be more tolerable of his sister's presence. Certainly, there were times when Aleguu would get on her brother's nerves. Those were the times that Vegeta would retreat into the woods where the girl wouldn't follow. But for the most part, the boy-cub allowed his sister to remain by his side. In truth, Tarve knew that his son's generosity stemmed from the instinct to protect her. The chieftain saw how Vegeta kept a close eye on Aleguu. And word frequently got back to Tarve about how attentive his son had become towards the girl.

While Tarve reflected on the changes that the demon-bird wrought upon his children, his thoughts wandered to the impact that it had had on Nappa as well. With the older cub, Tarve lacked the kinship bond that gave him the insight he had with his own cubs. With Nappa, the chieftain could only observe and infer. But with the older boy's boisterous behavior, it was almost easier to figure him out than it was to understand Vegeta.

Tarve suspected that Nappa was just as traumatized by the experience with the demon-bird as Aleguu and Vegeta were. But the older boy portrayed a strong and confident composure. He became very cocky and, at times, very obnoxious. Often times, the almost eleven-cycles-old boy would try to pick fights with other cubs – those that were older or larger or both. Tarve suspected that Nappa did this to try to prove his strength and courage. Most of the time, the other cubs would ignore Nappa. But when he _did_ manage to goad another child into a spar, he would frequently end up with a bruised body and a wounded ego. Yet, this didn't stop him from doing it all over again after a few days.

When the boy-cub began to harass the tribe's hunters to allow him to join them, it came as no surprise to Tarve. Shortly before the incident with the demon-bird, Nappa had been allowed to accompany them on a single hunt; an overnight excursion where the game had been small. After the event, he insisted that he was ready to go on longer trips and hunt larger game. The hunters initially declared that he was no where near ready after only _one_ hunting trip. And Tarve agreed with them.

But Nappa was persistent. Whenever the hunters prepared to go on a hunt, the boy hounded them until their departure. He observed their preparations, watching what they packed and where they planned to hunt. He came to memorize their rituals to the point where he would perform the tasks for them, without being asked to do so. When the hunters returned from each trip, Nappa would be the very first to greet them. He raptly listened to the tales of their latest catch while they cleaned their hunting gear. Again, the boy would pay close attention to their duties until he was able to assist them.

Eventually, the hunters agreed that perhaps it _was_ time to take Nappa along with them. Over the course of several fortnights, he had proven his desire and sincerity to learn from them. Tarve had been present when the hunters had approached Kailan to request his permission to teach Nappa the ways of the hunt. Kailan gave no objection to the proposal to train his son; he, too, had been a hunter before becoming a warrior and then later, earning the title of War-adviser.

Nappa's exuberant reaction to learning that he would become a hunter was enough for Tarve to know that the decision had been the right one. Despite being made an apprentice hunter, the boy-cub wasn't allowed to accompany his mentors on most of their trips. Most hunts were of large beasts that could easily take out or severely wound even the strongest hunters if they were not careful. During the hunts that Nappa _could_ participate in, he wasn't allowed to do much more than watch and learn. But it was enough for him to simply be allowed to go and to have the opportunity to absorb as much knowledge as he could. After nearly a full cycle of studying the ways of the hunt, Nappa's mentors decided to take him with them on the first hunt, one of the biggest trips of each new cycle.

The changes in the three cubs' behaviors hadn't gone completely unnoticed by other members of the great-tribe. Aleguu's behavior, in particular, had roused the curiosity and concern of at least a dozen villagers. A few of them came to Tarve with their worry for her. He was able to reassure them that the girl-cub was merely going through a phase after having experienced a small fright deep within the forests. He never indicated what the source of that fright had been. And so far as he could tell, the cubs never revealed that secret either. As the days turned into fortnights and the fortnights turned into seasons, the cubs' behaviors eventually receded back into normalcy and those that didn't recede were gradually accepted as the new norm. It became as if the incident with the demon-bird had never happened in the first place. For the three cubs, life was simply moving on.

While the children carried on with their daily routines, as if they were no longer bothered by their brush with the beast, the knowledge of the creature continued to weigh heavily on Tarve's mind. He hoped that the incident was an isolated one, but his instincts told him that as more time passed since the encounter, the likelihood that the creature would reveal itself again grew greater. And since the demon-bird's intentions remained a mystery, he couldn't be certain that his people would be safe if – no, _when_ – it returned.

This burden was added to the many other issues that Tarve had to contend with coming out of the winter season. Foremost on his mind was the smaller than usual yield on the previous crop harvest. They had experienced an unusual drought during the monsoon season of the last cycle. The season wasn't completely without rain, but the precipitation was far less than usual. The drought was so noticeable that the river had dropped nearly a foot in depth and the creek that normally flowed into it had completely dried up. The villagers had spent most of the growing season hauling buckets of water into the field. They managed to save about seventy percent of the usual yield, but the shortage was enough to be felt by the villagers in the form of food rationing throughout the winter season.

Tarve could only hope that the Mele would hear their prayers for healthier crops this cycle. If they experienced a repetition of the same weather conditions this cycle, then he knew they'd be in far greater trouble this upcoming winter. His village, while being forced to ration supplies during the winter, had not been near starvation levels. Their salvation – and curse – had lay in the fact that there had been a significant reduction in trade during the previous cycle. The lack of goods exchanged had resulted in them having more crops for their own village's needs.

Unfortunately, with the reduction of trade, the Vegetabyl Great-tribe didn't receive certain goods needed to survive comfortably through the winter. Most of crucial items came from tribes to their west and northwest. From the Bafalyl Great-tribe to the northwest, they received medicinal herbs. Even further to the northwest lay the lands of the Karofyl; they were they makers of cheeses which had a long shelf-life and were rich in protein. Directly to the west was the Vegetabyl tribe's strongest ally, the Steridyl who possessed the largest salt deposit.

Items that were less critical to their winter survival came from the south. Pottery came from the Zinibaryl Great-tribe to the southwest. Acquired from the Aposyl, directly to the south, were fruits which unfortunately had a short shelf-life. And cloth was bartered from the Malpifyl who resided to the southeast. Trade from the south had remained steady, but it was items from the west that the Vegetabyl Great-tribe needed most and had received the least over the past cycle. Seeking trade agreements from the Malvakyl to the north and the Kurkurbityl to the east were completely out of the question since they were both bitter rivals of the Vegetabyl people. Thus, trade was another concern Tarve had for his tribesmen.

The chieftain was pulled from his thoughts when he noticed that a few of the villagers were having difficulty with the furro they were operating. Without giving it more than a moment's thought, Tarve approached them to give them some assistance. An adult male that had been pulling the plowing device removed the leather straps from his shoulders. The female who had been guiding the tool's direction walked around it to join her counterpart just as Tarve arrived.

The device's two stone blades had snagged on something beneath the soil. The three of them worked almost wordlessly as they cleared away the dirt. They uncovered a root, old and dead from a tree cleared away long ago. A few chops with an ax at the cumbersome plant remnant and the villagers were able to continue their task. The man strapped himself back into the furro while the woman took her place behind it, grasping the two wooden handles. They were still a little hung up at first, but with the extra push from Tarve, they were on their way. The duo thanked the chieftain for his help. It was his willingness to lend a hand, no matter how large or small the task, that earned Tarve the continued respect of his great-tribe.

"Lo! Chieftain!" Alaria called out as she approached from the west end of the field.

Tarve walked towards her. "Lo, Alaria."

The peace-maker joined his side as he continued walking towards the direction of the village proper. "A Steridyl messenger arrived this morning," she said.

The chieftain quirked an eyebrow. "So soon? I would not have expected that one arrive so quickly after the end of winter. He must have spent the entire season traversing the mountain pass."

"I thought so, too. And _she_ arrived alone. We offered her an empty diyando so she could rest, but she politely declined. She asked for your council immediately upon her arrival, so I assume that she brings matters of importance."

"I shall see her at once, then."

By now, they had reached the creek separating the field from the village. Tarve turned back towards the field for a brief moment to get one final assessment. In truth, he was checking on his cubs one last time before leaving them with the other villagers. His eyes fell on them as Vegeta hefted their full basket onto his back and carried it towards the river. Aleguu followed dutifully behind him, hopping playfully over the trenches that had been plowed. Satisfied that they'd be alright on their own while he attended the meeting with the visitor, the chieftain continued onward into the village.

A few minutes later, Tarve and Alaria entered the salarg. The chieftain would have liked to have had his other two councilmen with him while meeting with the messenger, but they were busy with other matters. Tabos continued his important task of earning the favor of the Deities. Meanwhile, Kailan was leading the hunting party that had departed the day before and they would not likely return for at least a few days.

When the duo entered the salarg, the Steridyl female was seated on a bench with her back facing the doorway. She seemed to have heard them as soon as they had entered; she immediately stood up and turned to greet them. She was fairly young, had long, brown hair, and a comely face. The chieftain didn't recognize her. It was likely that she had only recently been appointed as a messenger.

"Are you Chieftain Tarve?" she asked.

"I am."

In response, she bowed respectfully to him as was proper for his position, her right hand fisted over her left breast as she did so. "Thank you for granting an audience with me so quickly. Please forgive me for pulling you away from your many important duties."

Tarve noted that the traveler was very well trained in diplomacy. "Please, rise," he beckoned. She obeyed. "I imagine your journey was not an easy one given that you crossed the mountains between our lands during the winter season. Are you certain you do not wish to rest first?"

"Thank you for your concern, Chieftain. But no, I will rest after I have delivered my message."

Tarve nodded. "Very well. Let us have a seat then."

The chieftain and the peace-maker took their seats at the front of the salarg while the traveler reclaimed her spot on the bench. Alaria offered the woman a cup of water and a dish of smoked meat and cheese. She accepted gratefully.

"My name is Arra," the messenger began. "My chieftain sends his apologies for the disruption in trade this past harvest season. It was not the intention of the Steridyl Great-tribe to create unnecessary hardships on your people."

Alaria offered forgiveness. "Please let Chieftain Matilo know that we bear no ill will towards your great-tribe. While we were concerned by the reduction of traders during this past harvest season, we also assumed that said absence was not without a good reason."

Arra nodded gravely. "As you may or may not already know, all communication with the Karofyl has ceased. The last to have heard from them was the Bafalyl during the final fortnight of the monsoon season two cycles ago. During the first fortnight of two harvest seasons ago, the Bafalyl sent a small envoy into Karofyl territory to investigate the cause of their silence. Winter arrived before that envoy returned."

"Winter settles much sooner in the northern lands," Tarve stated, "and is much harsher. Were the Bafalyl travelers forced to remain in Karofyl lands until after the winter season had passed?"

"If only that were true," Arra refuted. "When last cycle's rebirth season came and still no word or sign of their delegates was heard, the Bafalyl began to suspect that something foul had transpired. The speculation was that the Karofyl had solidified an alliance with the Malvakyl and had cut ties with the other great-tribes. The only conceivable explanation for the disappearance of the Bafalyl envoy was the possibility that they had been taken prisoner by either the Karofyl or the Malvakyl."

Tarve found this news to be disturbing. For generations, the Karofyl had carefully maintained complete neutrality with all of their neighbors. To hear that they had suddenly chosen to ally themselves with one of the enemy tribes was surprising and unexpected. This alliance, if indeed it had been forged, could be troublesome for the Vegetabyl Great-tribe and their allies.

Alaria repeated certain words. "'...speculation...' '...possibility...' You use terms that allude to the Karofyl's treachery yet you hesitate to convict them of any wrong doing."

"You are correct," confirmed Arra. "The Bafalyl sent a group of warriors – a recognizance party – into Karofyl territory late into last cycle's rebirth season. They admitted that the decision was dishonorable, to show such deep distrust with an act of espionage. But the decision was warranted.

I was in the Bafalyl village when those warriors returned three fortnights later. The news they brought was disturbing. Five days after crossing into the Karofyl lands, the Bafalyl warriors discovered that many of the forests had been destroyed. Burned to nothing but ash."

Tarve was alarmed by this news, but kept his features stoic. "Not an alliance, then. An attack by the Malvakyl, yes?"

"What of the Karofyl? What happened to them? Why did they not send for help?" Alaria inquired, equally shocked but unable to suppress her emotions.

"Please, you are jumping ahead," Arra answered. "At that time, the Bafalyl did not venture far enough into Karofyl territory to learn their fate. With evidence of war in front of them, they thought it was wiser to return to their lands and assemble a battalion. Their Chieftain, Tepari, requested that when I returned to my village that I implore Chieftain Matilo on his behalf for a regimen of warriors to supplement his own."

"Why did I not receive the same request?" asked Tarve. "I would have gladly offered the assistance of my great-tribe."

Arra explained, "I did not return to my village until after last cycle's Mid-Summer Feast. By then, the last group of our tradesmen had already departed for your village. We did not know at that time that that would be the final trade delegation we would be able to send to you for several seasons. It was my great-tribe's contribution to the battle effort that resulted in our temporary severance from you and your people."

"How did the battle unfold?" Alaria queried.

"During the first fortnight of the previous harvest season, our two battalions traveled north into Karofyl lands and then turned east towards the Malvakyl territory, assuming it was _they _who had attacked the Karofyl. When they reached the Malvakyl border, the two armies found that it was heavily fortified with Malvakyl warriors. War almost broke out that very instant. But one very important factor prevented a confrontation. The war-advisers of the Steridyl and Bafalyl great-tribes noticed that the Malvakyl army was not in a position for attack, but rather, for defense."

"Defense?" Tarve repeated.

Arra nodded. "Yes. Defense. The Malvakyl Great-tribe had fortified their western border in response to the events that had unfolded within Karofyl lands. They were not responsible for the destruction of the Karofyl forests after all."

"Then, who was?" inquired Alaria.

"That remains a mystery," Arra replied. "The story that the Malvakyl supplied was a bizarre one. They claim that strange creatures came down from the sky. A group of Karofyl hunters attacked the creatures. They retailiated by breathing fire onto the forests, turning them to cinder. The fate of that hunting party remains unknown, but is likely not a good one. After the appearance of these fire beasts, the Karofyl Great-tribe disappeared. The Malvakyl also say that a new range of peculiar mountains have risen where the Karofyl village once resided.

"Of course, the word of the Malvakyl can not be completely trusted, if at all. And none of these claims have been verified by any other source. Not to my knowledge, that is. I began my journey here early this past winter season – as you correctly assumed – barely a fortnight after our warriors returned from their excursion. Not at all enough time for a scouting group to investigate and return with their findings before my departure."

As Arra finished her tale, Tarve sat quietly to reflect upon what she had said. What was most troubling, and what he focused on, was the story of the sky creatures with the ability to manipulate fire. It was a vague description, but it was one that matched – if loosely – the description of the demon-bird that Vegeta and Nappa had witnessed almost two cycles ago. If the two different creatures were indeed the same, or similar, then Tarve knew that not only was the cubs' personal experience not an isolated incident, but that the creature they had witnessed was extremely dangerous. He felt an icy chill fill his gut, knowing that his children and Kailan's child had come so close to such a terrible threat.

Alaria felt the same dread, though perhaps not with the same magnitude that the chieftain felt. Tarve felt tendrils of her trepidation via their pack bond. Along with her fear, he felt her uncertainty. She gently implored the chieftain whether or not they should share what little information they had with the messenger. That was a good question. Tarve felt that divulging their knowledge would provide the confirmation the other tribes needed to verify the Malvakyl claims as truth. However, there still remained the possibility that the two tales were isolated and unrelated to each other. Sharing their experience might lead their allies to false conclusions. Yet, he found that he couldn't take that chance.

Tarve took a steadying breath and then spoke. "This sky creature... I believe... a few members of my great-tribe may have witnessed something similar... if not identical."

Arra's eyes widened fractionally in awe and disbelief. She hesitantly asked, "May I speak with these tribesmen? To hear their account of the creature?"

The chieftain rubbed his bearded chin as he contemplated the request. "I do not know if that would be best," he finally answered.

But the Steridyl female didn't like his refusal. "Forgive me for disagreeing, but I do not understand how an interview with these witnesses would _not_ be for the better. Any knowledge that I can report back to my great-tribe may make the difference between protecting our lands or suffering the same devastation as the Karofyl."

"You misunderstand me," Tarve answered with patience despite the woman's blunt argument. "I completely agree with you that additional information could be vital. But it is for the sake of the witnesses that causes me concern and coerces me to decline your request."

Tarve's concern was for the impact such an interrogation would have upon his cubs. They had both been deeply effected by what they had seen and it had taken them both several seasons to overcome the aftermath of the encounter. He feared that forcing them to recollect the occurrence would rekindle Vegeta's paranoia and Aleguu's anxiety. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause further harm upon his cubs. And if Nappa had been present in the village at that time, Tarve knew he wouldn't have subjected the older boy to the messenger's questions either.

"I see," Arra replied. "My apologies. I suppose it is enough simply knowing that my great-tribe's most valued allies have provided proof that these creatures do indeed exist."

"Thank you for understanding," Tarve said.

He felt bad for denying the visiting female an audience with his cubs. Her last statement exacerbated his guilt. The chieftain didn't know if the effect of her words had been intentional or not, but they served to remind him of the strong dependence and deep trust that his tribe shared with the Steridyl Great-tribe. To withhold information that could help them later on didn't honor the sanctity of their alliance. But Tarve had to put the safety and well being of his cubs before that of an outside tribe, alliance or no.

Arra changed the topic of conversation. "Chieftain Matilo wanted me to reassure you that we will honor the trade agreements our great-tribes negotiated last cycle. He cautioned, however, that should war become imminent, he could not guarantee the frequency that the exchange of goods could be made, but our intention is to resume trade to the best of our ability."

The chieftain nodded. "I would not expect your chieftain to overtax your great-tribe. If your chieftain finds that he is unable to spare as many tradesmen, then I shall supply more of my own tradesmen to ensure that the flow of supplies is interrupted as little as possible."

"I am certain that Chieftain Matilo will appreciate the offer," the messenger replied.

"And if matters _should_ come to war," Tarve added, "please do not hesitate to send word to us. Although my war-adviser is not present on this day, I know that he would gladly lead a regimen of warriors to aid you."

Arra bowed her head. "You have the gratitude of my great-tribe. I pray to the Deities that events do not lead to war, but if they do, we will graciously accept your support."

"My people have not forgotten when you came to our aid eight cycles ago when the Kurkurbityl Great-tribe nearly conquered our lands. We have been in your debt since that day."

"Chieftain Matilo is not keeping score. Please do not do so for yourselves," the Steridyl woman admonished.

Sensing that the discussion was coming to a close, Alaria offered hospitality to the visitor. "Please stay as a guest of our village for as long as you wish. Your journey was a long one and we cannot in good conscious allow you to continue on your way without first alleviating yourself of your weariness."

Arra bowed her head again. "Thank you for your kindness. I shall not remain long. It is imperative that I return to my village as soon as possible."

"I understand," answered Alaria.

Arra rose to her feet to leave, but she was interrupted by Tarve.

"One request before you dismiss yourself. My tribesmen have not yet been made aware of these sky creatures. I do not wish undue alarm to come to them. Please keep to yourself the information which you have provided to Alaria and myself."

"Surely you do not intend to keep your tribesmen ignorant of the danger?" the messenger queried.

Tarve's tail bristled at the accusation. "Of course not," he rebutted. "But as I mentioned, my war-adviser is not present. When he and his hunting party return in a few days, I will divulge this information to my great-tribe."

"I see," Arra replied. "Please forgive me for questioning your intentions."

Alaria came to the other woman's rescue. "We understand your concern. Thank you for your council. We will use the information wisely."

The two Vegetabyl leaders watched the Steridyl messenger exit the salarg. They were quiet for a few moments after she was gone, silently pondering over all the news she had brought with her from the west. Tarve scratched at his beard, deep in contemplation. The information about these sky creatures, these demon-birds, was limited. Loud, large, and terrifying. Influence over light and fire. Capable of destroying entire forests. But also known to leave other forests undisturbed.

The conflict between the two different stories was what was strange about the creatures. Why would they leave one forest alone but decimate another? What was the difference? In the incident that Vegeta and Nappa witnessed, the sky-demon was hovering over Malvakyl land and had left it untouched. Was it possible that the creatures had an alliance with the Malvakyl? _No. It couldn't be,_ Tarve refuted. _If they were, why would the Malvakyl warriors take up arms in defense of their western borders? And if there was an alliance, the Malvakyl would not have divulged so much information about them. Unless they wanted their enemies to falsely believe that there were no alliance._

_But that is just paranoia,_ Tarve realized. _So why leave one forest unharmed and burn the other to the ground?_ During Vegeta's and Nappa's experience, the creature was left unmolested, but the tale from the incident in Karofyl lands describe a hostile confrontation. Was _that_ the difference? If the sky creatures were left alone, would they respond peacefully? It was a possibility.

Then again, when Vegeta described the demon-bird's actions, he said that it appeared as if it was searching for something. Maybe its objectives were different than those of the sky creatures that destroyed the Karofyl forest? Tarve theorized that perhaps the single demon-bird witnessed by the boys had been a scout, of sorts. Send a single person – or, in this case, creature – to discover the obstacles that lay ahead. Then the main infantry can infiltrate and attack at a later point in time. That explanation made sense. But it was also the most troubling explanation. If this were indeed true, then it would denote that these creatures were not only intelligent, but were also planning to conquer lands for themselves.

Tarve felt a paralyzing fear race up his spine. He trembled visibly. His tail fluffed up to twice its size against his will. But this was not his own fright that he was experiencing.

Alaria had immediately noticed his sudden shift. "Tarve, what is the matter?" she fretted, neglecting to address him more respectfully.

The chieftain ignored the faux pas. He could feel Alaria reach out to him through their pack bond and gently brush against his mind. He ignored that as well, concentrating on the source of the distress. He followed it through the kinship bonds he shared with his cubs. In the span of half of a moment, he was seeing and hearing through the eyes and ears of both of his children.

Through Vegeta's perspective, Tarve could see the boy urging the villagers to seek shelter within the forest. But most of them weren't paying him any attention. They were staring at the sky with either a dumbfounded expression or a hostile stance. It was through Aleguu's perspective that he felt the unbridled terror. She was frozen in fear, staring up at the sky. Overhead, a pack of three bird-like objects were streaking across the sky leaving long trails of smoke behind them. Tarve quickly retreated from his cubs' minds.

"They are here!" the chieftain gasped, jumping to his feet.

Tarve raced out of the salarg. Alaria watched him go, startled by his sudden urgency and unsure what he had meant. But she remained in her seat for only a moment before she quickly followed him to the exit. When the duo stepped outside, they nearly ran into Arra's backside. She had stopped just outside the salarg and was frozen in place as she watched the bizarre events unfold. Like Arra, the villagers had stopped in the midst of their duties to stare into the skies.

Tarve followed their gazes. Just as his eyes found the three creatures cutting through the otherwise unblemished lavender sky, a gentle peal of thunder rumbled over them. The sound was not at all like the roar that the cubs had experienced two cycles ago. This one was quiet, reflecting the considerable distance between the village and the creatures very high overhead as they traveled towards the southeast.

The chieftain returned his attention to the village around him. He headed for the planting field in search of his cubs. As he did so, he pushed feelings of comfort and reassurance through their kinship bonds. When he found his children, Vegeta was still trying to urge his fellow tribesmen to take cover. He was yelling at them angrily and in desperation. But very few had heeded his advice. Even those that had taken to the forest had only gone so far as the very edge. Curiosity tested their temptations to peer out from the perceived safety of the forests to watch the mysterious creatures streak across the sky. Meanwhile, Aleguu stood frozen in place among the tilled rows. Her eyes were wide as saucers and her entire body trembled.

Tarve went to his daughter first. He knelt down by her side, checking her over to make sure she was unharmed. The act was irrational given the fact that the demon-birds were far overhead and hadn't come even remotely close enough to have caused her any physical harm. But the waves of terror she gave off countered this logic. He tried to gain her attention, but she was transfixed by the sight of the creatures. Alaria crouched down beside them only a moment later.

"Watch over her for me," Tarve asked and commanded in one breath.

Before Alaria could give the chieftain her confirmation, he rose to his feet and rushed to his son. The boy was demanding a small cluster of onlookers to retreat. But who would listen to a child, even if that child was the chieftain's son and future leader of their great-tribe? Instead of seeking shelter, this group, like several others, had taken up their weapons and intently watched the creatures, preparing to strike at them if need be.

When Tarve reached Vegeta, the boy turned to his father in exasperation. "They will not listen to me, Father! They do not know what the demon-birds can do!"

"Neither do you," the chieftain said.

Vegeta paused and gave his father a confused look. "But... I saw one before... I saw what it did..."

Tarve stared sternly at his son. He reflected on the information he had received from the messenger less than an hour ago and his theories about the creatures' behaviors. What his son saw was perhaps – no, _likely_ – only a fraction of what the demon-birds were capable of. The boy had no knowledge of the ravaged forests of the Karofyl territory. His one experience did not make him an expert.

"You are causing unnecessary turmoil," Tarve scolded. "And you are terrifying your sister."

"But, Father, it is not _I_ who is terrifying her! It is the demon-birds!"

"Go to your sister. Bring her to our diyando. Take care of her. I will settle matters here."

Vegeta's shoulders fell at the dismissal. "Yes, Father."

The ten-cycles-old child left his father's side to retrieve his sister. The chieftain watched him go. After the boy had collected his sibling, Tarve looked back upward to the sky. The sky creatures were just passing out of the villagers' line of sight, flying beyond the treeline. The soft rumble of their passing faded until only the sounds of nature remained. The streaks of smoke across the lavender sky were all that remained of their presence. While the threat diminished with every passing second, the villagers relaxed their stances and lowered their weapons. But they remained on alert. Some had finally noticed their chieftain's presence and looked to him questioningly, wordlessly asking him for the next plan of action.

Tarve cursed inwardly. This was _not_ how he had wanted to break the news to his tribesmen. The last thing he had wanted to do was to create widespread panic, nor did he want his people to jump into a battle mindset, especially if the creatures were docile until provoked. Fortunately, the demon-birds had flown so high over their village that provocation was not only avoided but also impossible. He had wanted to wait until all three of his advisers were present to conduct a meeting with the great-tribe. Unfortunately, due to this event, he would have to push that meeting sooner than he had wanted. He would have to have the meeting with his tribesmen that day – almost immediately.

_What a disaster this is turning out to be..._ _No, not a disaster,_ Tarve corrected himself. _What had occurred in Karofyl lands was a disaster. This is merely an inconvenience. A burden. But not a disaster. _As the chieftain, it was Tarve's duty to bear the burdens of his great-tribe. And if the great-tribe never had to contend with such trials every now and again, then there would be no need for a chieftain.

Alaria approached Tarve's side, quietly waiting for his instruction.

"Spread the word amongst the villagers – we will conduct a meeting after the mid-day meal. All are welcome to attend. The salarg will not be large enough to host all the tribesmen. We will meet beneath the Statues of the Deities."

The peace-maker nodded. "As you wish."

"Have Tabos assist you. And locate the Steridyl messenger. Make certain that she does not leave the village. Inform her that her presence at the meeting has been requested. Her account of these creatures and their activities are closer to the source than our own. I suspect that the tribesmen may want to hear from her directly."

"Yes, Chieftain," she said, turning away from him to carry out his orders.

Tarve scratched his beard. The task of sharing the knowledge of the demon-birds with his great-tribe without creating widespread panic was a daunting one. He had to mitigate their fears while also making them as informed as possible of the danger. Fortunately, he had a few hours to prepare. But given the way the villagers were beginning to gather around him in search of answers, he knew that a few hours wasn't soon enough. Still, they would have to wait.

* * *

**Story Notes:  
**furro – from _furrow_, meaning a wrinkle or line. A furro is a plow-like tool, having three stone blades, steered by wooden handles and pulled by leather straps.  
Arra – from _arracacha_, a root vegetable found in the Andes.


	4. Chapter 3

_Under the Burning Sun:  
__The Beginning of the End_

_~ Chapter Three ~_

_Age 713, Harvest Season_

Nappa carefully crept along a tree branch about forty feet into the air. His feet were bare, to provide himself with better footing and a silent approach. His tail was loose; it swayed from one side to another periodically, acting as a counterbalance. In his hands, he wielded a plumbata, a spear made of wood and bone. Between his clenched teeth was a masai blade, a flat dagger made of filed down bone.

In the other trees surrounding the twelve-cycles-old boy, other saiyan hunters were mimicking his movements. As they nimbly traversed the trees, they drew closer and closer to one another. They all had their attentions focused on the same target; a giant beast grazing on some of the flora down below. The tremanus they were stalking was an ursine like creature that stood twenty feet tall at its shoulders, almost thirty-five feet when it rose to stand on its two rear feet. Its massive height was the reason they crept towards it from so high in the trees.

Nappa moved into position, just above the animal's neck. The other hunters moved into position as well. They needed no verbal or visual signals to communicate; they were all linked as one unit, one mind, through their bond of duty – their duty of the hunt. The hunters all hefted their plumbatae, aiming for crucial spots on the beast; points along its spine, places in its limbs. Their spears would not be enough to kill the massive beast, they knew. Their purpose was to immobilize it so that they _could_ deliver a fatal strike.

The creature lifted its head, suddenly on alert. It looked around with its two sets of red eyes; two in the front of its head and one on each side, giving it almost a full 360 degree range of vision. Yet another reason why they attacked from above. The saiyans grew still as the beast sniffed the air. Fortunately, the hunters had wisely approached from downwind. The tremanus's pointed ears swiveled from side to side, listening for any sound out of the ordinary. The saiyans remained still. When the animal failed to detect the presence of its predators, it returned to its grazing.

Almost as one, the hunters released their spears at the tremanus_. _With near perfection, the plumbatae struck their targets, penetrating the beast's shaggy, black fur and thick hide. The weapons pierced specific muscles, tendons, and nerves, crippling the animal. It roared with fury at the unexpected pain. It reared up onto its hind feet; its clawed front paws swiped the air, but there was nothing in front of it to attack. The creature's long tail lashed back and forth. With a muffled thud, the beast fell back down onto all four legs. It tried to run, but it was already too weak. It could no longer hold its own weight and stumbled to the ground.

As the tremanus struggled to climb back onto its feet, the second phase of the attack began. Nappa leaped down from his perch, hands outstretched and ready to grab a hold of the creature's thick fur. He landed on the beast's neck with a hard 'oomph'. The animal thrashed its head when it felt the presence of the intruder upon its body. It tried to use its front paws to swipe the saiyan from its neck, but was met with failure. It could barely raise its paws from the ground.

Nappa held on tightly as the tremanus shook and rocked its head. Although it didn't have the strength to run, it still had plenty of energy to fight with. The fight against the beast was long and hard. The preteen saiyan clamped onto its fur so tightly that his knuckles turned white. His legs, straddling the base of the animal's neck, gripped harder. His muscles began to grow sore. But he refused to give up. This would be his first kill of an animal of this size, and he would not fail. He would not disappoint his mentors, as they had put a lot of faith and trust in him to successfully make the kill.

It was several minutes before the tremanus began to tire. It eventually settled its head on the ground, too weakened to hold it up any longer. Its breathing became labored. Heavy puffs of breath was released from its mouth and short snout, stirring up dust and dirt from the ground. Nappa waited a moment or two to make sure that the beast had truly submitted. It would be a terrible mistake to release his hold on the animal only for it to gain its second wind, resume its thrashing, and end up throwing the saiyan boy to the ground.

When it became evident that the creature could no longer fight, Nappa slowly freed his hands. He compensated by tightening his legs on the tremanus's neck. The twelve-cycles-old boy paused another moment, carefully observing the beast. Still, the only movement it made was its heavy breathing. Its chest slowly rose and then quickly fell with each breath. Nappa removed the masai blade from his mouth. With his weapon in his right hand, he ran his left hand through the animal's thick fur. When he found the base of the tremanus'sskull, he pressed the tip of the dagger against the spot. With one strong thrust, he pierced the creature's flesh, driving the weapon through and severing its spinal cord. A final shiver ran through the animal's body and then it was completely still.

The other hunters dropped down from the trees. One by one, they removed their spears from the animal. When they were done, Nappa withdrew his masai and then reclaimed his own plumbata. Each of the saiyans placed their left palms on the beast, pressed their right fists to their chests, and bowed their heads reverently. Since Nappa had made the kill, it was his privilege to lead the prayer.

"d'Jitaba Saiya, we thank you for this gift. With this prey, our tribe will grow in strength so we may live on. Its sacrifice shall not go to waste."

"Its sacrifice shall not go to waste," repeated the hunters.

Immediately after the prayer, the hunters went to work. The tremanus was far too large to take back to the village as it was, even though they were only a day's hike away from home. They had no choice but to process the creature there in the middle of the forest. And because there was so much of it, they had to do it quickly before the meat spoiled. Processing the meat right away would delay their return to the village by several days, but that couldn't be avoided. It was much more important to ensure that the kill did not go to waste. This was their final hunting trip before winter settled in. They wouldn't have another opportunity to fatten up their village's food stores for the rest of the cycle.

The group of twenty-two hunters split apart to tend to different tasks. They didn't need to divvy up their duties; they had done this countless times before and they each knew what roles needed to be filled. A couple of the saiyans cleared away the fallen foliage on the ground, creating a large patch of dirt. A few others gathered rocks and stones and lined them up to form a large circle. Several others gathered tinder and filled the makeshift pit. Using flint rock, they started a fire. Those who had created the pit moved on to collect larger pieces of dried wood. Their goal was to get a large bed of coals burning so that they could eventually smoke the tremanus meat.

Meanwhile, the other half of the hunting party began to work on the carcass. They stripped away its hide first. The strips would be used to transport the meat once it had been dehydrated and then later, when they returned to the village, the fur and the hide would be used to make cloth and leather. They removed the entrails, separating the organs useful to them and discarding those that weren't. The discarded pieces, though not used by the saiyans, would not go to waste, as they had vowed to Jitaba. They knew that other animals, predators and scavengers alike, would eventually come along and feed upon them.

The hunters carved away strips of meat and passed them off to those tending to the coals, beginning the long process of dehydration. The strips were cut thinly so that they would cook faster, but making so many strips was also time consuming. Hours later, when they got down to the bones, these would be cleaned as best as possible and placed at the edges of the fire pit to dry out. When they would return to the village in a few days, any remaining tissue would be cleansed from the bones and then they would be crafted into tools and weapons.

Nappa assisted with smoking the meat. As he helped his elders, a few of them offered him praise for a quick, clean kill. It was important not to make the animals they hunted suffer needlessly, lest they invoke Mele's wrath.

"You did well today, Nappa," said Kadavo, the head huntsman. Having twenty-seven cycles of age, he was considered young for having a hunting pack of his own. But the many scars he bore on his torso and limbs were a testament to his ambitious youth and his many cycles of experience. "It will not be long before you become an master hunter. I can see that at some point in the future, you will more than likely become the head of your own hunting pack."

"Thank you," Nappa replied.

_And once I have mastered the art of the hunt,_ the boy thought, _I will be one step closer to becoming a warrior._ For that was his true goal. Ever since the first sighting of the demon-bird, he had been devoted to following in his father's footsteps and becoming a warrior. Perhaps, one day, he may even become the war-adviser. But first, he had to become skilled in the way of the hunt. As his father once told him... _"Only after you have learned to respect the value of life and the sacrifice of death, will you be ready to learn the ways of the warrior. For it is not a warrior's duty to take life, but rather, to protect life."_ With those words filling his mind, he continued working with fervor.

There was a slow, but steady work flow. Cuts of meat were added to a pile waiting to be smoked. The strips of raw meat sitting longest went over the hottest coals first. After the strips were cooked, they were moved to the cooler coals so they could continue to dehydrate. And finally, after many hours, the tough strips of jerky were bundled up into swatches of the animal's pelt.

The saiyans continued at this pace far into the night. The processing of the meat slowed after dark settled. They had to spare some of the hunters so that they could perform guard duty. Many more predators were known to come out at night. The scent of blood would draw them to the tremanus carcass and the saiyans had to protect their kill. Other hunters were spared so they could get some rest. The remainder continued to work. But the hunting party rotated shifts so that by dawn, each one had gotten some rest and also went on guard.

* * *

Five days later, Nappa, Kadavo, and the rest of the hunting pack returned to their village, each of them with large bundles of meat and bones strapped to their backs. They immediately dropped off their wares to their proper places; the meat and organs to the huts that stored their food, the bones to the weapons smith, and the pelt swatches to the craftsman's hut. As they made their rounds, the villagers welcomed them home and expressed their gratitude for the last, large bounty.

Nappa made his way to the weapons smith to drop of his satchel of dried bones. As he did so, a small throng of younger children congregated around him. They forgot about the chores and games they had been in the midst of to flock to him and ask him about the hunt. Just as he used to do to the elder hunters before he had been invited to join them. The twelve-cycles-old boy had become something of an idol to the younger cubs.

"You were gone a long time, Nappa!" said one boy.

"You got a big one this time, right?" asked another.

"Was it a _tasmati_?" one of the few girls guessed.

"I bet it was an _amaki,_" yet another boy said.

Nappa grinned. "It was a tremanus_._"

The children stopped and gasped in awe and wonder. None of them had ever seen such an animal before, but tales of its size and strength were well known. The tremanus was often the subject of many tales told to scare the young ones; stories of how it stole cubs who wandered too far from the village and then ate them, bones and all. The children's shock wore off after a moment and they caught up to the young hunter.

"Was it _really_ a tremanus?" asked another girl.

"Was it scary?" one of the smaller boys fretted.

"Did it try to eat your bones?" teased one of the older boys with a grin.

And so on, went the questions.

Despite the flock of cubs circling him, Nappa eventually made it to the weapons smith. The ground-level hut, like all the other public huts of the village, had been relocated during the past cycle and a half. No longer were any of the structures located in the clearing between the forest and the river. They had all been disassembled and rebuilt beneath the trees of the forest.

Chieftain Tarve and his council had decided the previous cycle that they had to camouflage their village as best as possible so that the demon-birds would be less likely to spot them during their overhead flights. The task had taken much of the summer season that cycle to complete. And it had taken away from other important tasks. A handful of the villagers had initially disagreed with the decision to divert labor away from some of the necessary jobs in order to complete the move. But the great-tribe's leaders were adamant that the safety of the village came first. And when the demon-birds had been spotted a second time by the village, all of those protests grew silent.

Since then, the demon-birds had been spotted a few more times. For the most part, they stayed to the west, flying in the skies high over the western mountain range. But these sightings served as an continual reminder that these sky creatures were still present and still active. The villagers had grown used to the sightings, so to speak. So long as the beasts stayed far away, they drew no panic or alarm amongst the villagers. However, the tribesmen were still wary. The intentions of the demon-birds remained a mystery.

Nappa entered the weapons smith hut. He added his satchel of bones to the large pile off to the side. Two saiyans were busy at work inside the hut; Feralo and his mate Opeta, both masters of their craft. With great care, they filed down the ends and edges of each bone, forming them into different tools. A selection of finished products lined the side of the hut opposite the raw materials.

Without taking his onyx eyes away from his work, Feralo asked, "How was the hunt, Nappa?"

The twelve-cycles-old boy sat down on the ground opposite the smiths. "It went very well," he answered as he picked up one of the bones with one hand and a picking tool with the other. He began to clean the remnants from the bone.

"That is good to hear," Opeta replied. "We certainly could use the extra meat this winter."

Nappa nodded. "This last hunting trip should help a lot. Our last kill was a tremanus."

Both Feralo and Opeta froze. "A tremanus?" the latter repeated.

The preteen cub nodded.

The smiths set their work aside with an excitement that defied their forty-plus cycles. Like young cubs, they pawed through the newest collection of bones, coveting them like sacred relics.

"It has been many seasons since we last had the opportunity to work with such strong materials," the elder male explained. "I thought all the _tramanusi_ had migrated to the colder regions of the north..."

Nappa said nothing, uncertain how to respond to Feralo's speculation.

"These will make very durable weapons and tools," commented Opeta. The brown-haired female scrutinized every inch of the bone she held. "This is wonderful."

"Yes," agreed the black-haired man. "With these we might just be able to forge a few new ulak blades and gisernes before the warriors depart for Bafalyl lands."

This bit of information perked Nappa's interest. "My father is leading a band of warriors into battle?"

The widened eyes of the two older saiyans snapped to those of the boy, then to each other, then to the boy again. Nappa observed their nervous expressions. _Where they not supposed to tell me?_ he wondered. If the slipped information was actually true, then it was certainly a big deal. The Vegetabyl Great-tribe hadn't engaged in any major battles during Nappa's twelve cycles. The possibility was both exciting and frightening at the same time. Nappa eagerly waited for either one of the smiths to answer him.

After a few moments, Opeta carefully elaborated. "The announcement has not yet been made, so you must not say a word of this to anyone else. Chieftain Tarve commissioned us to craft extra weapons and to repair those that have been stored away."

"He did not specifically tell us that we are going to battle," Feralo continued. "But it appears as though the council has decided to supplement the armies of the Steridyl and Bafalyl Great-tribes with a battalion of our own warriors. It is possible that they plan to engage the invading birds and beasts that have overrun the Karofyl lands."

"But it is also possible that they only intend to establish a perimeter as the Malvakyl have done," supplemented Opeta. "Considering the rumors that the creatures have begun to migrate towards Bafalyl lands..."

Nappa considered this information, choosing to believe Feralo's theory. _Father is going to fight the demons. _The idea of his father becoming a war hero was exciting and invigorating. With every passing season, with every new story about the demons, the preteen cub felt with increasing certainty that the invasive creatures needed to be confronted. The damage and destruction they had wrought could not continue unaddressed.

Visitors to the Vegetabyl Great-tribe and Vegetabyl delegates returning from western lands always returned with updates of the activity in Karofyl territory. Nappa recalled a particular incident while away during a hunting trip during the prior season. He and his hunting party had been settling down in one of the many campsites scattered throughout their lands when a traveling messenger from the Bafalyl Great-tribe had come upon their camp. The messenger, named Lenti, had shared with them strange tales from Karofyl lands...

_ Nappa and the other hunters listened raptly as they learned about the invaders._

_"We have observed the demon-birds for quite some time," Lenti said. "We have determined that there are two different varieties of the sky creatures. The first does not appear aggressive, but remains dangerous. We have noted that they are spies, using those strange beams of light to inspect the land for whatever it is they are searching for. We have come to call them 'bird-scouts.'_

_ "The second, is quite aggressive. We are certain that these are the ones responsible for the destruction of the Karofyl forests. They look almost the same as the bird-scouts, but they behave very differently. They do not manipulate light like the bird-scouts, but they have mastered control over fire. They release spheres from their bellies that fall to the ground. When these spheres strike the earth, they unleash a fiery wrath upon the landscape, desecrating everything in their wake. We call these demon-birds 'fire-droppers.'"_

_ "Jitaba," gasped Kadavo. "You have seen this happen?"_

_ Lenti nodded. "Yes. But these sky creatures are not the only invaders we have discovered," he warned. "The appearance of the demon-birds was eventually followed by the presence of invaders we have called 'land-crawlers' due to the fact that as they travel across the lands, they crawl across the landscape on several sets of insect-like legs._

_ "One of these, we call 'rock-beetles.' Their bodies are small and round, but they have four massive claws that they uses to move earth and rock. Their arms are long and strong and flexible. We have watched as these rock-beetles transformed rugged and rocky terrain into flat and uniform lands."_

_ "How bizarre," one of the male hunters whispered._

_ "The rock-beetles are not the most peculiar," Lenti divulged. "The rock-beetles have a larger cousin that we have named 'soil-eaters.' The soil-eaters are very fat. They have no arms, but they _do _have several sets of teeth that chew into the earth, gobbling up the soil, and then releasing neat rows of their excrement in their wake. It appears that their purpose is to cultivate and fertilize the land. They are capable of tilling large swatches of land in a fraction of the time it takes an entire village of saiyans to do. Endless fields cultivated in a matter of days instead of several fortnights."_

_ "Amazing," Nappa heard a female hunter murmur._

_ Lenti continued. "We did not see how the creatures planted their crops, but they have been growing plants the likes of which I have never seen before. We have attempted to approach these fields, to learn what they are and how they are growing there, but they are heavily protected."_

_ "Protected? How?" asked Kadavo._

_ "There are two land-crawlers that guard the fields day and night. Truthfully, to categorize them as land-crawlers is a misnomer, as they have no legs. Instead of traveling by foot, they seem to float over the ground," Lenti shook his head in his own disbelief, "but we cannot figure out how they do it... They are much thinner than the rock-beetles and the soil-eaters, but they are also much taller. _

_ "We call them 'screechers' and 'blinders.' As they patrol the fields, they frequently raise what appears to be their heads into the air. They have large round eyes and ears that they use to watch and listen for us. If we are discovered, they unleash one of two attacks upon us. The screechers howl a deafening scream, one that is unbearable and persistent. It feels almost like having sticks jabbed repeatedly into one's ears."_

_ "How horrible!" another huntress proclaimed._

_ "That is not all," Lenti revealed. "The blinders use a visual attack. Unlike the soft glow that the bird-scouts use in their investigations, the blinders use a harsh and painful light as a weapon. Any who look upon the light of the blinders is rendered sightless. Fortunately, this blindness is only temporary. But it makes escape very difficult. Because of the screechers and blinders, we have not been able to approach Karofyl lands."_

_ "This news is unfortunate," Kadavo replied solemnly._

_ Lenti nodded in agreement. "Infiltrating the creatures' defenses has proven impossible. So much so that we still have yet to learn what fate has befallen the Karofyl Great-tribe. The worst news of all, is that these creatures have been expanding slowly to the south. We fear that by cycle's end, they will have crossed into my great-tribe's territory."_

Knowing that these creatures were slowly conquering additional lands in the northwest, Nappa's excitement about the battle preparations shifted towards feelings of trepidation. If the creatures were spreading, then it was most likely because they were in need of more resources. And if they needed more resources, it could only mean that they were growing in number.

The growing sprawl of the invaders through Karofyl lands had continued with no resistance. It wasn't because the saiyans weren't willing to oppose them. It was because they had yet to find a way to do so against the creatures' unusual atttacks. The Malvakyl had been fortunate to ward them away only because the western borders of their lands were too mountainous to cultivate. But the Bafalyl were not so lucky. The open territory made the Bafalyl vulnerable to the creatures' spread.

Nappa's worry grew. _What will happen if the demons cannot be stopped? What will happen if we fail? Will the demons become angry? Will they attack? What will happen to father? What if he is injured or... killed?_ And then another thought plagued him. _Does Mother know?_

Nappa immediately set aside the bone he had been cleaning and the pick he had been using to do the job. "Sorry, but I have to go," he blurted as he leaped to his feet.

Feralo and Opeta barely glanced away from the tremanus bones they had begun working on to see him go. "If you must," the older man replied.

"Do come back soon," requested the short-haired female.

Nappa nodded. He started for the door, then remembered the tremanus pelt he had used to carry its bones. The boy doubled back, scooped up the hide, and dashed out of the hut. He raced through the new village proper, heading in the direction of his clan's collection of diyando. On the forest floor, beneath the web of bridges and ladders, a singular large hut had recently been erected. This was where animal pelts were processed into fur clothing and leather armor. The preteen hastily entered the building.

"Mother! Is it true? Is Father going to battle?" Nappa blurted.

A woman with long, chocolate brown hair looked up from her apprentice's work when her son entered the hut. She didn't respond immediately, but the fire in her eyes and the sudden snap of her tail were enough to tell Nappa that he had spoken with a complete lack of descretion. He assessed the other occupants of the room. In addition to his mother Tasoi and her apprentice Sunako, there were a few of Nappa's younger cousins sitting among the piles of pelts. Kalia, Brusse, and Talio. From the three youngsters, he felt through their kinship bond a lingering sadness and anxiety. From Sunako – also a cousin of Nappa's, but much more distantly and many cycles older than the younger cubs – he felt annoyance. From his mother, he sensed irritation and displeasure.

Tasoi's dark eyes finally left Nappa's to address her apprentice. "Sunako, please watch over the little ones while I speak with your inconsiderate cousin."

The teenage female nodded her obedience while the older woman approached her son. Tasoi grabbed Nappa by the base of his tail and pushed him out of the clothier hut.

The twelve-cycles-old boy wailed in protest. "Maa! Stop! That hurts! I am not a child anymore! There is no reason to scruff me!"

The pain racing up Nappa's spine was horrible, but his embarrassment was much worse. He could feel his face heat up as onlookers averted their gaze from him and his mother.

Tasoi released her son once they were beyond earshot of the clothier hut. "You are still my child, no matter how many cycles you have behind you, and you will never be too old to receive a scruffing from your mother," she scolded.

The boy rubbed his tender appendage and scowled at the brown-haired woman. "I do not even know why you are mad at me."

A short pause. "Your father is not going to battle," the older female finally spoke.

Nappa forgot his irritation as it was replaced with confusion. "But I thought Feralo and Opeta said-"

"What they said and what is truth are two different things."

"So... we are _not_ going to battle?"

"Your _father_ is not going," Tasoi repeated. "But we _are_ sending a small regimen of our warriors to supplement those of the Steridyl and Bafalyl Great-tribes."

The boy furrowed his brows. "Then why is Father not going?" As the war-adviser, Nappa knew that it was Kailan's duty to lead warriors into battle.

"The Chieftain requested that your father remain here. Tagaru will be leading a small battalion in your father's place."

That was when Nappa realized his mistake. Tagaru was his uncle, younger brother Kailan, second-in-command over the Vegetabyl warriors... and father to the three young cubs huddled together inside the clothier hut. Their sadness and anxiety, Sunako's annoyance and his mother's anger at him... They all knew Tagaru would be leaving and would most likely be going to war. And Nappa had burst into the hut and callously reminded the young cubs of this fact.

While the prospect of battle was tied to the virtues of courage and honor, the intruding demons were a completely foreign and mysterious threat. It was understandable that Tagaru's children – who were all still very young – would feel fear for their father's safety more than they would feel pride for the leadership he would provide in the future battle. While battles against enemy great-tribes always ended with casualties, a battle against these formidable foes would likely be no different. There would be casualties. The saiyans could only pray to Jitaba to grant their warriors with his strength, to plead with Mele to bestow her protection upon them, and to hope for their safe return.

"I am sorry," Nappa softly apologized.

With those three words, Tasoi's wrath greatly diminished. "Do not apologize to me. You will go back in there and comfort your cousins. And do not mention battle to them again."

"Yes, Mother."

* * *

Half a fortnight later, nearly two hundred warriors from the Vegetabyl Great-tribe departed for lands to the northwest. Lining the main road that lead out of the village and towards the northwest were almost all the members of the great-tribe. They saw their warriors off, offering words of strength and courage. Any sorrow or sadness to see them go were suppressed. These warriors would bring their great-tribe honor and pride. They went to ensure the safety of their homeland and of their families.

At the edge of the village, Chieftain Tarve, his council, and their families bid the final farewell and tidings upon each warrior as they marched. Nappa stood with Vegeta and Aleguu in a niche between Kailan and the chieftain. Nappa watched as Tagaru proudly led the warriors up the road; the villagers saluted them with their right hands fisted over their left breast. Tagaru's mate Druha watched the procession draw nearer with a nearly stoic face. Nappa knew that she had already worked out her emotions and concerns in private so that she would not dishonor her mate publicly with her fears for his safety and her sorrow for his departure. Their cubs, however, could not so easily hide their sadness. But still, they stood tall and proud for their father. They did not shed a tear over his departure.

Tagaru reached his mate first. He stopped in front of her. Their eyes met. Nappa didn't know what was transpiring between them, but he knew enough that there was a lot passing between them via their bond in that moment. Finally, Druha saluted him and their three cubs followed suit. Tagaru silently looked upon his children, one by one, for a long moment each. As his gaze met with each of his offspring, the cubs nodded to their father, silently agreeing to whatever he had said to them telepathically. Then Tagaru moved on. War-adviser Kailan and Tasoi were the next to salute the junior war-adviser.

"May your strength and courage guide you to honor," Kailan wished.

"Thank you, brother."

Tagaru's gaze then fell upon Nappa. The twelve-cycles-old cub saluted his uncle. "May your strength and courage guide you to honor, uncle," he repeated the departing words.

Tagaru allowed a small grin to tug at his mouth as he nodded acceptance towards his nephew. Nappa felt his uncle briefly brush his mind. It was too quick to interpret all the emotions that Tagaru fed to him, but the strongest one that Nappa felt was one that was bittersweet. After that short moment, Tagaru continued onward along the line to receive salutes from Vegeta and Aleguu, then Tarve and Alaria, and finally the shaman Tabos.

It was Tabos's blessing that Nappa found most interesting of all. Unlike the standard departing tiding that everyone had bestowed upon the warrior, the shaman performed a small ritual. Tabos painted the symbols of protection and courage onto Tagaru's cheeks before blessing him with a prayer to the Deities. Then, the shaman saluted the warrior. Tagaru then turned back towards his village, his fellow tribesmen, his family clan, and his leaders, and saluted them all. Afterwards, the rest of the warriors received the same honors that had been given to the junior war-adviser. The procession, which had started immediately after the morning meal, did not end until it was almost time for the mid-day meal when the final warrior exited the village.

From then on, those that remained behind could only hope and wonder what would come of their warriors during the upcoming confrontation with the invading demons. They knew that it would be quite some time before any word would come back to them. What they didn't know was that news of the war front would not reach the Vegetabyl Great-tribe until near the end of the following winter season.

* * *

**Story Notes:  
**plumbata – a light weight throwing spear fletched with leather to improve accuracy.  
masai blade – a flat knife for stabbing or piercing.  
tremanus – from _tremarctos floridanus_, or Florida spectacled bear.  
tasmati – from _tasmanian tiger_.  
amaki – from _makira woodhen_.  
Kadavo – a loose anagram of avacado.  
Feralo – from _moringa oleifera_, also known as a horseradish tree or benzoil tree.  
Opeta – from _moringa stenopetala_, also known as a cabbage tree.  
ulak blade – a knife or dagger whose blade curves down and away from the hilt; the blade curves in front of the weilder's hand.  
giserne – also guisarme, a spear weapon with a pointed narrow blade coupled with a smaller curved blade set perpendicular to the main blade meant for hooking the target.  
Tasoi – from _tatsoi_, also known as spoon mustard.  
Sunako – from _komatsuna_, or Japanese mustard spinach.  
Kalia – from _collard greens_.  
Brusse – from _brussel sprout_.  
Talio – from _alliaria petiolata_, also called garlic root.  
Tagaru – from _rutabaga_.  
Druha – from _moringa drouhardii_, commonly called the bottle tree.


	5. Chapter 4

_Under the Burning Sun:  
__The Beginning of the End_

_~ Chapter Four ~_

_Age 714, Winter Season_

Bardock had never before experienced such miserable cold. Having lived his entire life in the tropical warmth of the Steridyl plains, he had never truly known what cold felt like. His homeland still experienced a winter every cycle, but even during the coldest season, the climate remained warm enough to have grown crops all cycle long – if not for the elevated saline levels in the soil. Only the hardiest trees could grow in Steridyl lands.

Because he hailed from a land so warm, the ten-cycles-old boy was poorly dressed to endure the brutal cold and snow in the mountain pass, especially during the winter season. He wore only a cloth vest – sleeveless – and a pair of leather trousers. When he had set off on his journey, he had had a pair of leather thongs on his feet. But both of those were gone now. He had lost one, and then the other, in the deep banks of snow, swallowed up by the cruel and merciless crystals of ice. His footwear had offered so little protection to begin with, that he had decided that it wasn't worth the little energy he had to retrieve them once they were lost.

Several fortnights ago, when Bardock had laid his eyes upon snow for the first time ever in his short life, he was wary and uncertain of its presence. With his most recent terrible experiences still fresh in his mind, anything unfamiliar caused him to be cautious... fearful. But he had soon determined that the foreign white powder was harmless. Since then, he had learned that that preemptive assumption was very far from the truth. Now, every step he took through the stuff felt like it was biting into him, sinking its teeth into his flesh, tearing through his muscles, and driving deep into his bones. His feet ached like nothing he had ever felt before – a combination of unyielding pain and all consuming numbness rolled into one.

To make matters worse, a bitter wind was ruthlessly hurling tiny daggers of snow crystals into every inch of the cub's exposed skin. He shivered uncontrollably. He ducked his head so that his face wouldn't be so directly brutalized by nature's wrath. His lips and his nose, his fingers and his toes, all extremities were numb from the cold. Even his tail, wrapped tightly around him, had acquired a thick coat of snow, its icy hold imbedded into his fur.

And he was so tired. Tired from hiking up and down the mountains. Tired from trudging through the knee-deep snow. Tired from the cold. All Bardock wanted to do was to curl up somewhere, anywhere, even here in the middle of this blizzard if he could. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept. It felt like it had been days and days ago. And he had had little to eat too. He filled his stomach with pawfuls of snow whenever hunger pangs became too unbearable. But it did little to sate him. Twice he stopped to pry some bark from a barren tree and tried to swallow some of that down. But it was too difficult to chew, hurt too much to swallow, and left terrible knots in his stomach. It was better to starve.

Despite all of the spiky-haired boy's suffering, there was one very good reason, and dozens of other reasons, to continue his fool-hardy quest. In his arms, swathed in a cloth bundle, was his infant brother Turles. And trailing behind him, following in the steps he carved into the snow, were roughly forty children, all younger than even he. When he had started this journey, there had been almost twice as many cubs following behind him. But so many had fallen; too weak, too hungry, or too cold to continue any further.

The first that had perished were those that were injured at the start of the journey. After that, the cubs that were suffering extreme malnourishment succumbed to death. And then those who could no longer manage the cold began to fall. There were others they had lost for other reasons, not because they were too weak to go on. These were the siblings of those who had fallen and often they were too young or too unwilling to continue on without their kin.

Every child that got left behind deepened the sadness and despair deep in Bardock's soul. He couldn't bear to see their suffering, even though he shared in it. He couldn't bear to watch them collapse, knowing that he could succumb to the same fate. He couldn't bear the fact that he could do nothing to help those that fell, as much as he wanted to, because the bundle in his arms was far more important to him.

But the guilt still drove at the boy. He had been the one to lead these cubs away from their village. He had thought that he could take them away from danger. That he would bring them somewhere safe to wait things out. That their parents would be along in a few days or so to collect them once their lands were secure again. Instead, he had led these fallen ones to their untimely fates. Each small, frozen body along the mountain pass marked yet another failure to save a life. It pained him to know that when one of them fell, he had to leave him or her behind.

Bardock struggled to keep his eyes open. He wouldn't become one of the fallen. He had to stay alive, at least long enough to make sure Turles survived. The infant was the only thing he had left, as far as he knew. His father Daikon, his older brothers Mashu and Tato, his uncles, and many of his cousins had left almost a season and a half ago. Along with most of the other warriors of their great-tribe and a small regimen of warriors from the neighboring Vegetabyl Great-tribe, they had gone off to do battle in the north. The warriors hadn't returned.

Instead, _they_ came.

_The monsters came in the midst of the night when most of the tribesmen and women were sound asleep. Bardock slowly rose out of the fog of sleep, barely registering the sound of the warning horn echoing in the distance. He felt the hazy confusion as his mother shook him awake, feeling her panic through their kinship bond as it fueled him into consciousness. He had barely been able to get himself dressed before she pushed Turles's bundled form into his arms and ordered him to run._

_"Go east," Sonera's voice instructed him from the dark. "Take your brother and go east through the mountain pass. Do not stop until you reach the village of the Vegetabyl Great-tribe. Keep your brother safe. Promise me that, okay? Do not come back. Do not risk your brother or yourself to come back and help us. When this is over, we will find you."_

_ In that moment, Bardock still wasn't sure what was going on, but his mother's barely controlled emotions and desperate urgency told him that the situation was dire and that he was not to argue. "Yes, maa. I promise."_

_ Bardock, tightly holding onto a fussy Turles, followed his mother out of their diyando. A strange orange glow in the distance lit up the village enough to see that his mother was dressed in war battlements. She had thrown on a hardened leather vest and leggings and had armed herself with a giserne. Through the bond, he felt that her panic had transformed into a fierce determination to protect her cubs. Her dark eyes were hardened. The orange glow of the distant fires reflected in her eyes, making her look deadly._

_ "Go, Bardock. Now," she ordered him. _

_ Sonera spared her son one long lingering look, and then one more to the infant in his arms. Then she leaped off of their balcony and onto the ground ten feet below, joining the ranks of those who were racing towards the disturbance. She disappeared into the dark. That was the last time he had seen his mother._

Bardock was snapped back to the present by a pair of voices.

"Wake up."

"Please be okay."

Bardock's eyes slowly opened. He didn't remember when or exactly how he had managed to fall asleep. He must have collapsed on himself where he had been standing. He had sunk straight down instead of falling over. His legs had folded beneath him, unable to hold his own weight anymore. The tightly packed snow around him had acted to catch him and cradle him. The snow supported him comfortably despite the cold that consumed him, almost like the icy arms of death holding him as he passed into the Afterlife. Miraculously, he hadn't dropped Turles during his collapse. The infant was still secure in his arms.

The owners of the two voices that had woken him helped him to his feet. Bardock blinked away his blurry vision. Their faces came clearer into view. He recognized them as brothers Karduun and Tichok of the family Sterakas, a clan that was very distantly related to Bardock's own Asterakis Clan. Karduun and Tichok were both younger than Bardock's ten cycles; seven and five cycles respectively. The boys pulled Bardock back up and onto his feet. This act of compassion only riddled the older boy with more guilt for the fact that they had taken the time to stop and help him when he had been unwilling to do the same for so many others.

As the ten-cycles-old boy regained his footing and his balance, he paused to look around and reestablish his bearings, not that he really knew where in the mountain pass they were. But it was in that moment that he had realized that all of his charges, all the cubs who had chosen to follow him and had made it this far, had all stopped while he had been down. _Why did they stop?_ his troubled mind pondered. _Why did they not go on without me? Do they not know that they might die if they stay?_

The stark reality that every single one of them had stopped for Bardock when he had collapsed while, in return, he continued pushing forward whenever one of them fell made him feel a deep shame and an unmerciful guilt. _All those other cubs... I should have tried to help them. They might still be alive if I had helped them like these cubs helped me... This is all my fault. They are dead because of me._ His eyes stung with tears that threatened to well up.

"Please, Bardock," Tichok's tiny voice broke through the howl of the wind. "We do not know which way to go. Please help us."

Another lance of guilt speared through the spiky-haired cub's heart. After all the suffering and death that he had led these children through, they continued to look to him for their survival and salvation. _They do not know... I know as little as they do. I do not know where I am going! I cannot help them! They are better off without me..._ Hot tears slipped down his frostbitten cheeks.

A hand weakly tugged at his vest. "Bardock, we need you," a frail-looking girl-cub pleaded.

Her plea was followed up by half of a dozen additional voices, all trembling from the cold, imploring him not to give up on them. Even Turles, who stirred every so slightly and emitted the tiniest coo, seemed to be asking that Bardock not abandon this difficult journey just yet. The boy's heart lurched with the will to go on for his baby brother, but his body had so little strength left to carry out that will.

"I cannot," Bardock whispered into the icy wind. He sunk back down into the snow, unable to stand.

The children became alarmed. "But you must!" a small boy insisted. His sentiments were echoed by many of the other cubs.

"Please get up!"

"We need you!"

Bardock, angry at himself for his failures, took out his frustrations on the cubs. "I _cannot_," he insisted. "Go without me."

"No! Do not give up!"

"We need your help."

"I cannot help you anymore," Bardock reasoned.

"Then we will stay and help _you_," said Karduun.

"Do not be stupid!" Bardock growled. "You will die if you stay here with me."

The cubs' arguments ceased with that point. Bardock took note of the sudden fear and wariness in the eyes of the children. But at the same time, they remained stubborn and resolved to stay by his side despite their fear of death. _I do not understand,_ Bardock despaired. _They should go. They know they will die if they stay... So why will they not leave?_

A dark shape began to emerge from beyond the limited visibility created by the thick blizzard. Bardock wasn't sure if he was actually seeing something approaching them through the blowing snow and ice or if he was just imagining it. But when several of the other cubs took notice, the ten-cycles-old boy knew that he wasn't hallucinating. The children grew still with uncertainty and rekindled fear. The form was too obscure to be identifiable. The only thing they could defer was that the figure was very large. It could be anything; one of the demons or a predator, perhaps.

The shadowy form came from the direction that the cubs had been heading before Bardock's collapse. As it drew closer, the older boy realized that it wasn't one large figure, but three smaller ones. The size and shape of saiyans, Bardock realized. But were they friend or foe? May the Deities help them if the approaching figures were from an enemy great-tribe. In Bardock's weakened and unarmed condition, there was nothing he could do to save the cubs if these saiyans were the latter.

Soon, voices could be heard through the screeching wind.

"...told you I heard something," came a female's voice.

"Jitaba... They are cubs..." gasped an adult male.

The figures hastened their approach. As they closed the distance, Bardock could see that there were two men and a woman. They were dressed heavily in thick furs. The men each wielded a giserne and the woman was armed with an ulak blade. The adults put away their weapons as they neared the children. Once their weapons were away, they appeared friendly enough. Enemy or not, Bardock found himself filled with an overwhelming relief. The appearance of these rescuers lifted a huge weight from the boy's shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to sob his relief.

"Why are you children out here all alone?" the female asked as she knelt down in front of a small grouping of cubs.

"We were running away," a small girl answered.

"Running away?" the taller male repeated. "Whatever for?"

"She means that we were escaping," corrected a boy.

"From the demons," added a slightly older boy.

"The demons?" breathed the stunned woman. "You mean to say that the demons attacked your village?"

"Yes," several small voices confirmed.

"What village do you belong to?" the shorter man asked.

"Steridyl," Bardock answered.

"Jitaba," responded the astonished taller male. "They have infiltrated lands that far to the south?"

"In such little time," the woman noted.

"Your tribe's warriors were unable to prevent their advance?" the shorter man inquired.

"Nikau, do not interrogate them!" the female scolded. "They are terrified, starved, and half frozen! Do not pester them with questions of battle – one that has obviously forced them to evacuate their homes."

"Calm down, Pini. I do not expect a dissertation of their encounters with the invaders," rebutted the one revealed as Nikau. "The question was rhetorical."

"Alright, let us not get our tails in a knot," the as yet to be named male patronized his comrades. To the children, he asked, "Will the lot of you manage a short hike through this weather to our campsite? We have fire, food, and furs to share."

Of course, the cubs eagerly agreed. Even Bardock managed to find enough strength to follow the trio of adults to their camp. Thankfully, the trek wasn't far. It was only a few thousand yards away, in the midst of a copse of conifer trees, just far enough that the small fire had been hidden by nature's blizzard of icy wrath. The cubs quickly filled the space beneath the trees. Mixed expressions of awe and gratitude filled their faces.

The trees protected the camp from most of the elements. They served as obstacles to the wind, breaking it apart. And the branches prevented the accumulation of snow. The fire crackled warmly at the center of the copse; a haunch of meat was roasting above the welcoming flames. Log benches had long ago been arranged around the fire pit. A face-cord of wood was stacked nearby. Between two of the non-coniferous trees, a single, simple diyando had been built. Bardock deduced that this camp was one that had been used repeatedly by different travelers throughout the cycles.

Nikau, Pini, and Nopal – the name of the third saiyan, Bardock soon learned – did their best to get the group of cubs warmed and fed. Each of the adults had packed a fur pelt for bedding, which they shared with some of the children. The diyando above them had a few additional pelts, and those were retrieved for their use as well. These six blankets weren't enough for all the young ones, however, so the adults shared their spare sets of clothing with some of the larger cubs. They were all huddled up close to the fire, which had had several logs added to it after the meat had finished cooking.

The haunch was not much food for nearly forty cubs, but it was divided up as best as possible. Each child had about four or five mouthfuls of the meat. Nopal supplemented the cubs' meager meal with the rations he and his comrades had packed. She handed out small chunks of bread, a few pieces of dried root vegetables, and a small handful of nuts and berries. They passed around a few flasks of water to wash it all down. It wasn't enough to give the children full bellies, but after several days with nothing to eat, they felt sated by comparison.

Bardock did his best to feed Turles. The younger brother had just barely begun to eat solid foods. Only a few of his cub-teeth had cut through thus far, so the available food selection was difficult for the infant to ingest. The ten-cycles-old boy fed his share of berries to his brother since those were the easiest for the baby to eat. Bardock used some of the water to soften the bread and broke down the meat into teeny pieces. The older brother ate all of the nuts, his portion of bread, and only one bite of the meat, giving the rest to Turles. His generosity didn't go unnoticed by Pini.

"You are quite devoted to your brother's needs," she said.

As he continued to feed his brother, Bardock answered, "I promised my mother, before she went into battle, that I would protect him."

Pini was quiet for a moment. Then she replied, "I understand your desire to ensure his survival, but you need your strength as well. You will not be able to protect him if you allow yourself to grow too weak."

Refusing to meet her eyes, Bardock rebutted, "I only need to make sure that he gets to the village of the Vegetabyl Great-tribe. If anything happens to me, I know that someone will take care of him until my family comes to get him." The woman was quiet, prompting the boy to look at her. "You _are_ from the Vegetabyl Great-tribe, right?" he worried.

"Of course," Pini answered.

Bardock felt another wave of relief. For a moment, he had fretted that they had unknowingly been captured by members of the Malvakyl Great-tribe.

"How far are we from your village?" he asked.

Pini took a moment to answer. "Normally, the distance can be covered in approximately four days. But this winter's weather is the worst that has been felt in two generations. Or so the elders say. During normal winters, this camp is far below the frost line. The snow has been brutal and unyielding this cycle. We left our village six days ago. It will likely take us a day or two longer to return with so many cubs in tow."

Bardock nodded despite the grim news. Seven, perhaps eight, days before they would reach the village. _Will the rest of us make it that long? How many more will die before then?_ he wondered. While their chances had greatly improved now that they were under the care of these three Vegetabyl tribe members, Bardock knew that some of these cubs were already too weak to survive the rest of the journey. He, himself, might already be too weak. He had been ready to give up only an hour ago. _Will I be able to live long enough to make sure Turles gets there?_ The only thing he could do was to wait and see what would come at the end of seven days.

* * *

Ten days passed before they arrived at the Vegetabyl village.

Several obstacles had caused the journey to take longer than expected. First and foremost was the fact that the group consisted of nearly forty children, all under the age of ten. All of them were still weak from the cold, from injuries, and from malnutrition. Having to stop each day to set up a temporary camp and to scavenge for food added additional time to their trip. Several hours were spent each day to start a fire and to hunt down some game.

This burden of caring for so many cubs was exacerbated by the fact that only two of the adult travelers were escorting them. Nikau and Pini opted to cancel their participation in the quest to travel to the Steridyl village to obtain news of the battle at the Bafalyl-Karofyl border. It was apparent that the battle had not gone well. Nopal, on the other hand, decided to continue onward through the mountain pass and into Steridyl territory where he would learn what outcome had resulted from the demons' invasion.

On top of these issues, the weather had remained uncooperative. The blizzard hadn't let up for several days. The deep banks of snow, the driving wind, and the brutal cold slowed them down considerably. What should have taken two days to emerge from the mountain pass had taken almost five days. On that fifth day, the weather had finally broken and the clouds opened up to reveal a shining sun and beautiful lavender skies. But it remained too cold for the snow to thaw despite the end of the storm. They still had to traverse the forest which had been deeply blanketed in snow for the first time in almost four generations.

Despite Pini's and Nikau's best efforts, three more cubs had perished during the journey. These most recent victims consisted of one girl and two boys, a few of the youngest and frailest of the group. Unlike those who had died earlier in their travels, these children had been given a proper send off. Although they didn't have a shaman with them to perform the Ritual of the Departed for these children, Pini and Nikau still offered a prayer to the Deities on their behalves. They were then burned so that their physical bodies would return to the earth and their spiritual bodies could be released to the Afterlife. In total, only thirty-four out of seventy-nine cubs survived the nigh impossible journey through the mountain pass.

When they finally arrived at the village, Bardock was far too exhausted to remember much. He remembered that the village was seated at the edge of the forest. The trees were so tall here, unlike those from his own home land. The diyandos here were built high in the trees instead of on the stilts that he was used to. And there were a lot of tribesmen and women that greeted them. The rest of the village was a blur.

He and Turles and the rest of the surviving children were rushed into a building where they were given a fresh change of warmer clothes and a hot meal, one that was more than a few morsels of food, for a change. Many of the children fell asleep soon afterward, including Bardock. At one point, the ten-cycles-old boy woke only long enough to realize that the village healer was examining his condition. Knowing instinctively that he was safe, he quickly drifted back to sleep.

Two days later, Bardock woke again, having slept long enough to regain his strength. He sat up, finding that he had been wrapped in thick furs in a makeshift bed on the floor of a large room. At first, he was disoriented, uncertain where he was or how he had gotten there. But he quickly remembered that he had made it to the Vegetabyl village. He inwardly rejoiced with this knowledge, but that joy was quickly replaced with fear. _Where is Turles?_ he panicked while looking around. His eyes quickly landed on the small bundle next to him. The infant was quietly dozing. The older brother breathed a sigh of relief.

A pang of hunger rippled through Bardock's stomach. He decided that he ought to seek out some food for himself and his brother. He found Turles's sling nearby and wrapped the infant in it before tying it to himself. When he rose from his bedding, he found that the large room was only half full. There were several empty beds, but just as many remained occupied. The cubs that were still bedridden were those that were still too frail. Only a few were awake.

Bardock headed towards the exit of the room. A cold draft left a chill on his skin and he pulled his fur clothing tighter around him, preparing himself for whatever cold temperatures waited for him beyond the portal. But just as he reached the door, it swung open, almost catching him off guard. In the doorway, he was met by two females. The first was an adult woman of roughly thirty cycles with long, black hair flowing down her back. The second was a girl-cub, also with black hair, but hers was much shorter and swept backwards. The adult female carried a large pot whose contents emitted a delicious aroma. The girl carried a stack of bowls.

The girl-cub spoke first. "Another one is awake!" she chirruped with wide eyes. To Bardock, she unleashed a barrage of questions. "Are you hungry? Do you like stew? We brought stew! Do you feel okay? Are you hurt anywhere? We can get a healer if you need one. What is your name? Is that baby your brother? He looks like you, so he must be your brother. What is his name?"

Bardock couldn't keep up with the interrogative onslaught. He blinked with perplexity. How does one react to such unbridled enthusiasm? Fortunately, the woman came to the boy's rescue.

"Aleguu," she gently admonished, "This boy has just risen from his rest. He is not yet ready to answer so many questions all at once."

The girl – Aleguu – blushed. "I am sorry, Alaria. I was just happy to see that he is okay." She started again, but much slower this time, to Bardock. "My name is Aleguu. What is yours?"

"Bardock. And this is my brother Turles."

Aleguu's gaze dropped to the infant who was now wide awake as well. "Hi, Turles!" she greeted.

"It is nice to meet you, Bardock," the woman said. "As my little helper has already said, my name is Alaria. I am the peace-maker of the Vegetabyl Great-tribe. And Aleguu here is the daughter to our chieftain Tarve."

As best as Bardock could manage with a toddler strapped to his chest, he bowed to the two women. "Thank you for helping us."

"Your gratitude is not necessary," Alaria assured. "We could never turn our backs when our allies are in need. Now come. Let us get some food in your bellies."

The two females served Bardock a large helping of stew which he shared with his brother. The brothers ate as the women moved around the room and fed each of the cubs, one by one, waking those who were still asleep so that they could get some nourishment. When they had finished their rounds, they returned to where Bardock was seated just as he and Turles polished off their serving. Unexpectedly, Alaria spooned another large helping into his bowl before he could object. The boys began eating their second helping while the females sat down across from him.

"I understand that you were the one who courageously led these children away from danger," Alaria spoke softly.

Bardock paused. A renewed guilt raged through him with the reminder of those who hadn't survived the journey. He hadn't led the cubs _away_ from danger. He felt he had led them from one danger and into another. Turles reached for the spoonful of stew in Bardock's hand, drawing the older boy out of his dark thoughts. The older brother resumed feeding the infant.

Alaria continued. "Word of your bravery has spread throughout our village. These cubs you rescued have shared their praise for you to many of our tribesmen. Even Chieftain Tarve is impressed by your deeds. He has expressed his desire to take you and your brother in as his wards until your parents come to claim you."

Aleguu chimed in, "You get to be my brothers! Just like Vegeta!"

Bardock had remained quiet. Until now. Bitterly, he rebutted, "My parents are not coming."

The two females were alarmed by his sullen outburst. Aleguu tried to comfort him. "Why not? I am sure that they miss you. They will come find you. I know they will!"

Bardock growled his annoyance.

Alaria, however, understood the boy's despondency. "Aleguu, child. Bardock's parents would come if they could, but..."

The eight-cycles-old girl didn't quite understand. "But... what?"

The peace-maker paused a moment, trying to figure out the softest way to explain. Finally, she said, "Aleguu, do you remember when your mother went on her last hunting trip?"

The girl's eyebrows scrunched together as she contemplated. "Sort of. I was very little then... Maa never came back."

"That is right, little one. The tasmati she was hunting had taken her life instead. She would have returned to you and your brother if she was able to. But she had to go to the Afterlife instead."

Aleguu looked very somber. "Bardock... Your parents... Did they go to Viradisia, too?"

Bardock didn't answer. His thoughts had wandered to that of his mother. He had no idea what happened to her after he had last seen her. After she had jumped the short distance from their diyando's balcony to the ground, she had joined the throngs of other Steridyl tribesmen as they headed towards the invading demons at the north end of their village. She had quickly disappeared into the dark of the night.

_Bardock hesitated on the balcony of his family's diyando, watching the armed adults and teenagers pass by beneath him. His mother's last words – to protect Turles and to flee to the Vegetabyl Great-tribe to the east – echoed in his head. Despite his promise to obey her, he was too afraid to move._

_ The boy could see an angry orange glow from the north end of the village where fires ravaged buildings and other structures. From the darkness, he could hear the voices of his fellow villagers. Some called out to each other with orders or warnings. Others were screams of pain. It was the latter that drove the icy chill of fear through Bardock's heart._

_ Eventually, the ten-cycles-old cub found his courage. Clinging onto Turles in his sling, the older boy carefully descended the ladder of his diyando. When his feet touched the ground, he looked around to decide his best course out of the village. He put the orange glow of the fires to his left hand side and slowly ducked and dodged around those who were still heading towards the battlefront. He navigated around and beneath the legs of the many diyando and other buildings within the village._

_ Bardock had only gotten halfway through the village when several loud screeching roars sounded from overhead. He looked behind, skyward, towards the source of the disturbance. Against the dark and starry sky, he could see two sets of the fire magic that propelled the sky demons. Their shadowy forms reflected the flames beneath their wings._

_ A series of explosions rocked the village. Flames billowed into the air. _Fire-droppers_, Bardock realized, his eyes widening with fright. He was certain that his family's diyando had been where the blast had occurred. He turned back towards the east once again as the screeching roar grew louder again. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him as additional explosions rattled the night. _

_ The boy ran so fast that he stopped paying attention to the other saiyans around him. As he ran beneath a diyando, he stumbled into a trio of small cubs who were huddled beneath the structure. Fortunately, he hadn't fallen on them, nor had he dropped the bawling Turles. But the near collision had halted his mad dash. His eyes quickly glanced over the terrified faces of the three children. In that moment, he made a fateful decision._

_ "Come with me," Bardock ordered the children._

_ Too frightened to do anything else, the cubs climbed to their feet. Bardock resumed the direction of his exodus, the three young ones on his heels. Only a few minutes passed by before he discovered another cluster of children. These, too, he added to his charge. Soon enough, the group following him had grown large enough that they were easy to spot in the dark night and other children joined them without having to be told. It was enough for them to know that someone was there to guide them and lead them to safety. So they clung to the hope that the ten-cycles-old boy offered with his leadership._

_ The fire-droppers continued to bombard the village with their fiery attacks. Many times, Bardock had to redirect the pack of cubs as explosions threatened to cut off their escape route. As the fires grew, the faces of their enemy grew clearer. Whenever he could spare a glance, Bardock stole a glimpse of the ground-demons. They were very large, taller than the diyando. They walked on narrow legs. And they spat fire or light-stones from long narrow snouts. The fire consumed the buildings within the village. The light-stones seared through the flesh of their victims._

_ As Bardock carried out his desperate escape plan, he feared that the demons were drawing nearer. And he was correct. With so many cubs following him, he was slowed down by the burden they created. And their group had become a large and easy to spot target. Several times, the cubs were driven further south by the barrage of light-stones and fire from the ground-demons that pursued them. Some of the children fell victim to the enemy's attacks. Their cries of pain filled the night. Bardock and the other cubs were too terrified to stop and rescue these unfortunate ones._

_ Eventually, the ten-cycles-old cub led his charges out of the village and into the surrounding wilds. The woods surrounding the village was thin with vegetation; the saline content of the soil hindered the growth of plant life. The few trees that were hardy enough to prosper here weren't very tall, nor did they have many branches. In short, the forest offered little cover._

_ Bardock and the cubs moved a little quicker once they had exited the village. Out of the village, they were able to put some distance between themselves and their attackers. Stray light-stones occasionally raced through the woods, however. But with the increasing range, the accuracy became very poor. Once the children were far enough away from the burning village, they were swallowed by the shadows of night. They had managed to escape the attention of the invading demons. The creatures remained focused on the adult members of the village who were still fighting despite having been overrun and overpowered._

_ Although they had fled from their village, and although they had avoided the demons' wrath, the cubs did not yet feel safe. They continued their flight long after the sounds of battle faded, long after the acrid smell of smoke dissipated, and long after the glow of the fires dimmed. They did not stop running until dawn broke the next day.  
_

* * *

A few days later, Bardock was back to full strength. As Alaria had promised, Chieftain Tarve had taken in the Asterakis brothers as his wards. He had given the boys their own diyando near to his own. The two dwellings were closely connected by a short rope bridge. It was in his new – hopefully temporary – home that Bardock had spent the rest of his recovery time. It was a new experience for him, to live in a diyando so high from the ground. Whenever a heavy wind blew, he could feel the diyando sway with the trees. It was a sensation that required some getting used to.

The village was so different from his own. Bardock soaked it all in with eyes full of wonder. For the first time since arriving at the Vegetabyl village, he was strong enough to actually venture around the settlement. The trees here were so tall! And the many diyando in the trees were quite amazing. With the trees barren of their leaves, the number of structures built among the trees was all the more visible. It was incredible. He was especially impressed by the web of bridges and ladders connecting the dwellings to one another. That the only structures at ground level were those for community use was a foreign concept to him.

In his home village, all buildings sat atop ten foot tall stilts that were carved from stone mined from the quarries. The wood used to build their diyando and other facilities was imported since the few trees of his great-tribe's lands were too few in number to be harvested. And since all their buildings were so close to the ground, they had little use for bridges. Some of the diyando in his village were connected by bridge, but only those that were owned by members of the same clans. And because the forests of his home land had tree populations that were so thin, his village was far more exposed than the village was here.

Bardock toured Vegetabyl village with Turles strapped to his back. Tarve's son Vegeta had been charged with showing the younger boy around. Accompanying the chieftain's son was the war-adviser's son Nappa and the girl Aleguu who had been an almost constant presence over the past few days. During the tour, Bardock had learned a lot from his new acquaintances.

Bardock had quickly learned how bubbly and inquisitive Aleguu was. The girl was a chatterbox and her attention seemed to flit from one subject to another. She shared everything she could think of with him, from how old she was... _"I am eight cycles old but I will be nine soon 'cause my name day is in the rebirth season."_ ...to her favorite food... _"I like moon berry pies best of all!"_ ...and where the prettiest flowers grew... _"Along the creek at the edge of the forest are where you can find all sorts of flowers! Blue ones, and orange ones, and white ones..."_

And if that endless chatter wasn't enough, Aleguu seemed to have a story for almost every place they visited. At the river, she had recalled... _"This is where Seltuu fell in the water and she could not swim so Bok had to jump in and save her."_ In the middle of the old village proper, she had shared... _"The deity carvings used to be here, but now they are in the forest with everything else."_ Between two large boulders at the edge of the new village proper, she had giggled... _"At the last Midsummer Feast, this is where Leek and Galan got _really_ drunk on spice wine. They passed out right here and then it rained all night and they slept right through the entire storm! They were completely soaked the next morning!"_ Those were only a few of many tales she had to tell.

Nappa was almost as much of a talker as Aleguu was, Bardock learned. But where the girl-cub seemed to talk simply for the sake of it, the giant of a boy was more of braggart. He had begun with... _"Have you ever gone on any hunting trips? I became an apprentice hunter two cycles ago. On my thirteenth name day this summer, I will become an official huntsman."_ When they drew near to the hut of the weaponsmiths, he had continued... _"I am learning how to make different weapons. Feralo and Opeta are going to help me make a new plumbata."_ And as they passed by the sparring circles, Nappa had boasted... _"The elders say I am growing much faster than other cubs my age so I have to spar with males who are two to four cycles older than I am."_ Bardock was quickly growing irritated with the taller boy's gloating.

But Nappa also seemed to have a lot of useful information that made listening to his bragging worth while. He had shared... _"Food is rationed out, but if you ask Nori if she needs help with any chores, she will sneak an extra fruit or piece of jerky to you."_ He had also indulged this bit of advice... _"The bath houses get really crowded in the winter season because the river is too cold to bathe in. But usually, they are empty just after the midday meal, so if you need to bathe, _that_ would be the best time of day to do it."_

Vegeta was a little more difficult to figure out. Bardock noticed right away that the flame-haired boy was rather quiet and reserved, especially when compared to the other two. Where Nappa and Aleguu were both full of energy, Vegeta appeared relaxed and laid back. When he spoke, it was simple and to the point and revealed very little of himself. He had pointed out various parts of the village... _"The healers' hut is here."_ Also... _"Our food stores are found here."_ And... _"If you need a warmer set of clothes, the clothier is here."_ And so on... boring and practical.

It was Vegeta's withdrawn composure that led Bardock to pay more attention to the flame-haired boy. He picked up on little things, such as an annoyed sigh when Aleguu jabbered on about yet another mundane detail or the rolling of his eyes as Nappa gloated about himself once again. Rarely did Vegeta vocally object to his comrades' blabbering. At one point he had scolded his sister... _"Alright, Guuber, enough already. We will spend the entire day showing him around if we have to keep listening to your stories."_ At another time, he had interrupted the taller boy... _"Nappa, no one is interested in hearing how many different animals you have hunted."_ Bardock had grinned at the older boy's resulting deflated ego.

Bardock was able to infer from their mannerisms that Vegeta was the leader of their little pack. Not only did the other two cubs seem to obey Vegeta when he admonished them for their excessive chatter, Vegeta also directed the tour through the village, choosing what places to visit and in what order to visit them. If one of the other two cubs wished to show Bardock something that didn't appear to be on Vegeta's list of sights to see, they would defer their suggestion to the flame-haired boy.

But Vegeta wasn't a bully or a tyrant, Bardock noted. If one of the two cubs objected to Vegeta's scolding or his decisions, they were quick to voice it. Vegeta might argue back, but he wasn't aggressive when he did so. Aleguu and Nappa were free to have their opinions; they just didn't often succeed at changing Vegeta's mind.

Their tour finished up just in time for the midday meal. Vegeta and company escorted Bardock to the center of the new village proper where a light meal of cheese and bread was shared. The cooking pits had small fires going for the gathered saiyans to keep warm. Bardock had learned that the recent temperature they were experiencing was much cooler than normal, even for this time of the cycle. But he conceded that it was not as unbearable as it had been in the mountain pass.

As the spiky-haired boy ate his meal, he could not help but to recognize the faces of many of the Steridyl cubs who had come to this village with him. They had all been taken in as wards to the many family clans of the Vegetabyl Great-tribe. Just like Bardock, they would all be cared for until a parent or older sibling came to collect them. _If anyone from our great-tribe survived, that is, _Bardock lamented as he fed Turles. He considered the possibility that they could all very well be orphans. And as of yet, they had no way of knowing if they were.

* * *

**Story Notes:  
**Daikon – or _white radish_, a large radish from East-Asia.  
Mashu – from _mashua_, an edible tuber of the Andes.  
Tato – from _potato_. (While proof-reading, I noticed that naming Nappa's older brothers Mashu and Tato was a happy coincidence since their two names put together sound a little like 'mashed potato.')  
Karduun – from _cardoon_, or artichoke thistle, a thistle-like plant native to the Mediterranean.  
Tichok – from _artichoke_.  
Sterakas and Asterakis – from _asteraceae_, a widespread family of flowering plants.  
Sonera – from_ scorzonera_, or black salsify, an edible root native to southern Europe.  
Nikau – from _nikau_, a palm tree native to New Zealand, of which the leaves are edible.  
Pini – from _rapini_, a vegetable similar to broccoli and used in many Italian and Roman foods.  
Nopal – from _nopal_, also known as the prickly pear, a vegetable used in many Mexican dishes.  
Viradisia – from _viridian_ and _paradise_. The saiyan version of heaven.  
Seltuu – from _celtuce_, or Chinese lettuce.  
Bok – from _bok choy_, or Chinese cabbage.  
Leek – from _leek_.  
Galan – from _glangal_, a rhizome (subterranean stem) of the ginger family.  
Nori – from _nori_, the Japanese word for edible seaweed.


	6. Chapter 5

_Under the Burning Sun:  
__The Beginning of the End_

_~ Chapter Five ~_

_Age 714, Rebirth Season_

The unusual brutality of this cycle's winter season quickly waned soon after the adoption of Bardock and the other Steridyl cubs into the Vegetabyl Great-tribe. As winter flowed into rebirth, the temperature gradually warmed and the snows slowly melted. There had been so much snow that had fallen during the past winter that the melt water coming down from the mountains was torrential. The river was several feet higher than normal. The planting fields had flooded earlier during the rebirth season. But now, as the river slowly receded and the fields were eventually drained of excess water, the ground remained a thick muck of mud. Already into the fourth fortnight of the rebirth season, the field had yet to be tilled.

Aleguu and half a dozen other children from her great-tribe were mingling along the edge of the field. With the planting postponed, there was little work to be done and so the cubs were wont to get into mischief with the spare time on their hands. A few of them had come up with the great idea of trekking through the thick mud, to see how far into the field they could walk or how deep they could submerge their feet without getting stuck.

Aleguu was no exception. She removed her thongs from her feet and set them next to the other sets of footwear. After hiking up the bottoms of her leather breeches, she made the first step into the mud. As her foot sank into the ground, she felt the cold, wet, gritty soil consume the appendage, stopping a couple of inches above her ankle. With a grin on her face, she plunged the second foot into the murky earth.

As Aleguu experienced the sensation of mud squishing between her toes, she asked the girl nearest to her, "Colasia, does it tickle your feet too?"

Colasia, the youngest daughter of Alaria the peace-maker, answered with a giggle. "It does! It feels so strange!"

A boy who was a few cycles younger than Aleguu's nine cycles challenged them, "I bet I can get farther than you can!"

"I bet that you can not, Jute!" Colasia rebutted.

"Yea, Jute! We can get further than you!"

The trio of cubs slowly trod through the muck. Two of the other boys, Rampion and Sentel, both Steridyl refugees, had joined the low-speed chase into the field. From the sidelines, Seltuu and Colasia's very young brother Laziu, watched warily as the braver cubs tread deeper and deeper into the mud. Colasia, the eldest of the group at eleven cycles, was a mere three steps ahead of the pack. Aleguu and Jute were about even with each other; Rampion and Sentel were just behind them.

The struggle against the thick earth was quickly wearing down Aleguu's stamina. The mud was unforgiving, tightly clamping onto her feet. Each time she tried to pull a foot from the muck, it seemed to suck onto her limb, refusing to release her. She put her weight onto her left foot and pulled hard on her right. A soft 'ssssshhhhhlllluhck' whispered from deep within the soil as it slowly relinquished its hold on her muddy foot as it popped free from its prison.

Just as the group had slogged about ten feet into the field, a girl's voice scolded, "All of you better get out of there right now! You are going to leave deep divots in the soil that we will have to repair once the ground is dry!"

Aleguu shifted to look behind her. She recognized the voice as belonging to Teridi, Colasia's older sister. Aleguu groaned. Teridi, hoping to one day follow her mother's footsteps and become the next peace-maker, would often try to exert the authority she believed that she had over the younger cubs within the great-tribe, and especially within her family clan. Of an age with Vegeta's twelve cycles, Teridi had an obvious crush on the chieftain's son, although she adamantly refuted it.

The other children moaned their disappointment at having had their fun cut short and began making their way back towards sturdier ground. Teridi continued to lecture the five cubs as they approached.

"You know there are plenty of things that need to be done. Just because the field cannot be planted does not mean that the lot of you can create trouble. And look at your clothes! They are covered in mud! Colasia, I am especially disappointed in you. You are older than the others; you should know better. And Aleguu, you too! You are the chieftain's daughter; what kind of example are you setting for the young ones?"

Aleguu's scowl grew deeper and deeper with every sentence that Teridi spat. The young girl thought, _She will never become the next peace-maker by being so bossy. People would never listen to her. Just because she likes to talk like the elders does not mean she is a woman-grown. Thank the Deities that Vegeta does not like her back. I would hate to have her as my sister-by-bond._

Teridi continued her rant. "Seltuu and Laziu are much better behaved than the lot of you. A shame that the youngest two are the ones who acted more responsibly. Rampion and Sentel, you two probably do not know any better as you have not been here long enough to learn all of our rules. But the rest of you ought to think about the trouble you have caus–"

The twelve-cycles-old girl was suddenly cut off as a huge glob of mud slapped her in the left shoulder. She was stunned completely speechless as the hunk of earth slid off of her. The look of absolute horror on her face was too much for Aleguu who started snickering uncontrollably. Jute was laughing just as loudly. Colasia was trying desperately, and failing miserably, at hiding her mirth. Rampion and Sentel were initially just as startled as Teridi; being the outsiders, they were uncertain what the proper response should be. But with the other three laughing so hard, their uneasiness quickly wore off and they, too, were snorting with merriment.

Teridi's shock eventually morphed into rage. Her chocolate eyes were lit with fire as they darted from child to child, searching for the culprit. When her eyes landed on Aleguu's mud-coated hand, she found her attacker.

"Aleguu! How- Wha- Why you! You better get out of there right now!"

The nine-cycles-old girl settled her laughter and defiantly said, "No! You come in here and get me!"

Teridi scowled. Aleguu was still five feet away from solid ground, well out of the older girl's reach. Aleguu reached down and grabbed another hunk of mud from the ground. Jute saw this and, still chuckling, retrieved his own clump of wet soil. The Steridyl boys watched gleefully, but wisely refrained from arming themselves. Colasia, meanwhile, had stopped laughing completely and her eyes were now filled with dread, knowing full well that her older sister would be several times more furious if she were struck with more of the muddy missiles. Seltuu wisely moved away from the eldest girl, gently guiding Laziu with her.

"Do not dare!" warned Teridi.

A sinister smirk spread across Aleguu's face. "Try and stop me," she challenged, knowing full well that Teridi wasn't willing to enter the muddy field to do anything about it.

Before Teridi could get another word out of her mouth, she was struck with a second ball of mud. This time, it had been thrown by Jute. Aleguu quickly slung her own ammunition while her partner in crime reloaded. Teridi was struck in the stomach and the leg respectively. She took a few steps back as another two mudballs were hurled at her, one going wide, the other grazing her right arm. Rampion and Sentel decided to join in then; simply watching the bossy girl's stern expression morph into terror was enough to encourage them to participate. They each took a shot at Teridi, but neither of their mudballs struck true – the older girl had turned and ran the moment she saw four more clumps of earth being scooped up.

Another round of laughter was shared among Aleguu, Rampion, Sentel, and Jute as Teridi retreated. Colasia looked frightened, however. She would no doubt share the blame, even though she hadn't slung a single ball of mud. At the edge of the field, Seltuu turned towards the village proper and, without saying a word, began following Terirdi. Laziu stayed rooted in place, however. He stuck a thumb in his mouth as he watched the two girls cross the flooded creek as they made their ways home.

"I should go," Colasia said out loud to no one in particular. She trudged her way out of the mud, retrieved Laziu, and followed the same path the previous two girls had taken.

"Well, now what?" Rampion asked as the laughter settled down.

"MUD WAR!" Jute yelled as he pitched a hunk of soil at Sentel.

"Hey!" the struck boy protested and hurled his own wad back at Jute.

In mere moments, an all out battle broke out between the four remaining cubs. Peals of laughter and screams of delight echoed in the air. So caught up in their game, they didn't immediately notice the strange noise growing from the distance. Aleguu was the first one to become alert to its presence. She mentally withdrew from the battle to listen more carefully. But the boys' boisterous activity hindered her.

"Shh! Quiet!" she snapped.

The boys halted, confused.

Jute demanded, "Why?"

"Shh," Aleguu hushed him again. "Listen."

The boys grew quiet and still.

After a few minutes, Sentel asked, "What are we listening for?"

A gentle wind whispered. Fallen leaves from the previous cycle crinkled as they skittered across the ground. Tree branches creaked as they swayed. Birds chirped and sang to one another. The striking of mallets as tribesmen repaired buildings within the village echoed from the forest. Barely perceptive beyond all that, was a constant, high pitched whine. And it was steadily growing louder.

One by one, the boys became aware of the noise. All four cubs were familiar with the sound, and all knew the only thing that could be its source. They looked skyward just as the high pitch tone became accompanied by a deep and menacing rumble. Immediately, they spotted the bird-scout almost directly overhead. Four sets of eyes widened in fear as the creature descended upon them.

Panic filled each child. Flight was the only option. Aleguu struggled to pull her feet free from the mud. But in her terrified state, the task seemed impossible. Her hands trembled uncontrollably. Her heart beat wildly in her chest. _It is going to get us! It is going to get us!_ she fretted irrationally as she pulled one of her legs free. Jute and Rampion were having just as much difficulty. Sentel, the very youngest of the group at only five cycles, was frozen with fear. The only thing he managed to do was wet himself. Rampion took notice of Sentel's immobility and tugged on his arm to prompt him into action.

As Aleguu scrambled onto the slightly higher, but much more solid ground, she finally noticed both her father's and her brother's presence in her mind. They were feeding her their reassurances while letting her know that they were quickly coming to help her. Aleguu felt a small wave of shame wash through her. Despite all of her recent lessons to gain better control over what she transmitted through the various bonds she shared, she had, in her moment of terror, fallen back into old habits and slammed them with a powerful wall of terror.

When the girl had climbed onto solid ground, she looked back to see that the three boys were still having difficulty. Her fright urged her to run for the cover of the forest where she could see some of her fellow tribesmen start to cautiously emerge. Instead, she reached a hand out to Jute, the closest of the three.

"Come on!" she called to him.

Jute stretched his hand out and clasped onto Aleguu's. The girl pulled as hard as she could manage. Her feet, slick with mud, could not find purchase. She almost went sliding back into the muck. Her feet slid out from beneath her and she landed on her bottom. The girl repositioned her feet on an exposed rock and tried again. There was a long moment where Jute didn't budge. But then the mud suddenly gave way. Aleguu flew backwards as the boy fell forward onto the edge of the higher ground. They repeated the process for Rampion and Sentel.

Aleguu kept an eye on the bird-scout as they pulled the smaller boys out of the mud. It was hovering directly over the center of the field, having halted its decent only after it had dropped below the height of the treetops. The light of its eye had flickered to life and was being directed towards the edge of the forest to Aleguu's left. Her fear elevated. So far, it appeared as if the creature had yet to spot them. But they were still out in the open and dangerously exposed.

As soon as Sentel was free, the four children bolted for the forest. They didn't bother going out of their way to cross one of the three bridges spanning the creek. Instead, they ran through the five-inch deep water, paying no heed to its brisk temperature. They cut across the corner of the old village proper. Aleguu raced into the forest just as Tarve, Vegeta, and several others emerged from within. The chieftain caught his daughter, who hadn't acknowledged his presence in her haste to reach safety. She struggled against his hold, fighting like a caged animal.

"It is okay, girl. Calm yourself," Tarve soothed.

Aleguu felt her father's calming presence through their bond. Her struggling slowly ceased. She met his eyes with her own. Instantly, a floodgate opened up and tears streaked down her mud-coated face. The girl didn't sob, but her lip trembled from her recent terror and new-found relief. Tarve gave his daughter a comforting hug, paying no mind to the clods of dirt caked all over her person. After a few moments, her breathing settled, and she was handed off into her brother's protection.

Aleguu wasn't happy to have been transferred into Vegeta's care. It wasn't that she didn't have faith in his ability to protect her. She simply preferred to be in the safety of her father's embrace at that particular moment. But she recognized when he had to put his fatherly duties on hold in exchange for the duties of the chieftain. She watched as Tarve stepped towards the forefront of the tribe, focusing his attention on the intruding creature.

The bird-scout was scanning the edge of the forest... and all the saiyans who had gathered to see the disturbance. So wrapped up in their curiosity and trepidation, they failed to consider that they were foolishly revealing themselves to the enemy. The creature's gaze fell upon a cluster of villagers, lingering on them for several moments. The light of its eye was too bright to look at directly. But eventually, it shifted away. Unfortunately, it shifted to fall upon more and more of the tribe members until it finally landed upon Tarve and a small group of warriors.

The bird-scout's gaze remained on the chieftain and those around him – including Aleguu who clung tightly to Vegeta. The assembled warriors perceived the creature's actions as a threat upon their leader and retrieved their weapons. They gripped their spears. Some wielded the fletched plumbata spears typically used by the hunters; others were armed with the barbed sibat spears of the warrior class. All were ready to unleash an attack upon the demon should it attempt an attack.

Aleguu watched with trepidation as those who were armed inched forward, itching to go on the offensive. While the girl felt marginally better now that she was behind the line of defense, she was still anxious. The wall of warriors was only a thin protection against the devastating and ruthless capabilities of the demons. She felt, through the bond with her brother, that he was just as nervous as she was.

"Do you think it is going to attack?" Aleguu quietly muttered to her brother.

Vegeta's response didn't come immediately. When he finally replied, he prayed, "Jitaba and Mele, please... please do not let it harm us."

The standoff continued. The warriors moved into attack formation. Tarve continued to scrutinize the creature, watching for any indication that it would lash out at them. Although the creature was alone and flanked on two sides, it clearly had the advantage over the saiyans. The chieftain knew that his tribesmen had only one chance to survive this encounter.

"STAND DOWN!" he commanded to the bewilderment of the armed saiyans. "DO NOT PROVOKE IT! STAND DOWN!"

Reluctantly, a few of the villagers lowered their spears. But most of them did not. They were too afraid to let down their guards. They didn't want to risk being taken by surprise and left unable to defend their families, their friends, and their homes. Tarve gritted his teeth at their defiance. He was frustrated, but not angry at them; he knew their refusal was not out of disrespect for him.

"LOWER YOUR WEAPONS!" the chieftain commanded again.

This time, Tarve exerted his dominance upon them. As their leader, he shared a very subtle link with his people, one that could only be summoned in times of dire need. Only twice before during his tenure as the chieftain did he have to rely on this rare ability. Both times had been during periods of war. Both times had been draining. Both times had left him feeling troubled; he disliked the idea of inhibiting the free will of his people. But he conceded that there would be times that using such an ability was necessary. Apparently, now was such an occasion.

Aleguu felt her father's will press down upon her, even though she wasn't one of those who were readying an attack. She had never felt her father's presence in her mind in such a way before. She felt herself bend to his command. Her fear seemed to inexplicably wash away. It was replaced with the unrivaled yearning to obey. She had no weapon to drop; instead, she took several submissive steps back. She noticed that Vegeta did the same.

As one, the villagers lowered their spears. They slowly retreated into the forest. Only those who were refugees from the great-tribes to the west retained control of their actions. Wisely, they followed their hosts' example and backed away as well. When the saiyans were no longer within line of sight, Tarve turned his attention back towards the bird-scout. The creature hovered in the air for several more minutes. The beam of its light remained focused on him. Aleguu held her breath, waiting for the outcome to unfold.

Without warning, the creature's light winked out. The fire beneath its wings flared. And then it quickly rose into the sky. Another flare of its flames, and it launched away towards the west. Undoubtedly, it was going to regroup with the other demon creatures and report its findings.

Aleguu felt when Tarve released his hold over the tribe. The pressure in her mind suddenly disappeared and once again she felt free to do as she wished. The fear came flooding back, but with the bird-scout's departure, her fear wasn't as thick as it had been before. She felt the normal bond she shared with her father return. He was feeling her out to make sure she was alright. He was likely doing the same with Vegeta.

The chieftain turned to face his tribe. He reentered the forest and gathered his children to him. Aleguu was squashed between her father's and her brother's embraces. Crushed between them as she was, she wouldn't have chosen to be anywhere else. Through their kinship bond, she could feel her father's sudden exhaustion. She was alarmed, but he wordlessly reassured her that he was alright. When Tarve relinquished his hold on his children, he slowly rose to his feet and addressed the villagers.

"As soon as I return to the new village proper, I will be conducting an emergency meeting with the representatives. I will be waiting in the salarg with my council. Any representatives who have not arrived before the salarg doors have closed will not be included in the discussion. Spread the word. This is not a meeting that I would advise passing over for other matters."

* * *

Almost the entire great-tribe had gathered around outside of the salarg, filling almost every possible space available. The benches had been the first to be filled. Then the ground all around them. When space began to grow limited, a few wise saiyans had taken to the bridges and balconies in the trees above. Others soon followed, and those spaces, too, had become packed. They were all waiting for word from the meeting still taking place within the building. Almost two hours had passed, and still the representative had yet to emerge.

Aleguu was one of the villagers who had planted herself on one of the many bridges overhead. She was seated at the center where the bridge hung at its lowest point. She was gripping one of the many ropes that connected the supporting lines to the base boards, leaning her weight into it. The girl sighed with boredom. She had hoped, like everyone else, that the meeting would be a quick one and the details of the discussion would be revealed soon. So far, only a few hints of the secret conversation had been revealed through heated rebuttals, loud enough to be heard beyond the walls of the salarg. But the true meat of the dialogue had yet to be discovered. And it had been quite some time since they had heard an outburst.

Aleguu sighed again. _Waiting like this would not feel so long if I had someone here with me to talk to,_ she lamented. Despite having saved space for her usual crew, none of them had joined her and she had unwillingly forfeited each space she had reserved as it had become apparent that they wouldn't be arriving.

Vegeta, she knew, was in the salarg with their father. Ever since his twelfth name day had been observed this past winter, his almost constant presence had been required so he could learn and observe the duties of the chieftain. Tarve insisted that his son begin to take more responsibility as he would one day inherit the great-tribe.

Although she expected that Vegeta wouldn't be joining her, Aleguu thought that perhaps Nappa would. But the older boy was a no show as well. Earlier, when he had arrived among the gathering crowds, Aleguu had grown momentarily elated. But the junior hunter hadn't even glanced in her direction, despite the three times she had called out to him. Instead, he had settled in with many of his hunting party. Apparently, without Vegeta's presence, there was no incentive for Nappa to join her.

At the very least, Aleguu had hoped that Bardock and Turles would sit with her. She hadn't yet seen them and was still scanning the faces of the assembled masses, hoping to catch a glimpse of their whereabouts. Eventually, she did manage to spot Bardock, far off to her left on the ground below. He and his brother were among the refugees from the Steridyl and Bafalyl great-tribes. She noticed that Rampion and Sentel were among that group as well.

With nothing else to do, Aleguu observed the number of refugees that had amassed. Ever since Bardock and his group of strays had arrived over five fortnights ago, more refugees had trickled in. At first, they had come in small groups of twos and threes and the time between the arrivals of different groups had been long. The winter weather made travel difficult. It had been a miracle that Bardock and his flock had survived the journey.

As the winter snows melted and the mountain passes slowly opened up, the number and frequency of evacuees had increased. Every couple of days, another group would come down from the mountains, asking for salvation. There had been far more immigrants from the Steridyl Great-tribe than there had been from the Bafalyl. Now, with almost all of them gathered here, Aleguu could grasp exactly how many had successfully found safety with her people. She did her best to count the number of heads she could see, which was no easy task since several of them were moving around. But by her best guess, their numbers had grown to a little over two hundred survivors.

That number was horrifically small. If each of their great-tribes had had as many members as the Vegetabyl Great-tribe claimed, then over ninety-five percent of the other two tribes were unaccounted for. The hope was that they had fled south to the lands of the Zinibaryl. But they had no way of knowing that yet. The easiest route from the Vegetabyl Great-tribe to the Zinibaryl Great-tribe was through Steridyl lands, which were, of course, currently occupied by the demons. The alternate route was much more difficult. It consisted of crossing the river to the south – which was at this point in time too dangerous with the fast flowing melt waters – into the lands of the Aposyl Great-tribe. That was followed by a trek across the small Aposyl desert. If the traveler was able to survive the brutal heat, they then had to contend with the southern end of the western mountain chain, where they were taller, more rugged, and all the more difficult to surpass. Despite these challenges, Aleguu knew that her father had plans to send a party southward anyway, as soon as they could safely cross the river.

The best that the refugees could do was to pray to the Deities to protect their lost loved ones and to thank them for the safe return of those who had been reunited. With the odds stacked against them, the number of reunions had been small. Almost rarely, those who reconnected were closely related. Some cousins had found each other. A woman and her nephew had reunited. A man had found his grandson. Although these reunions were rare, they offered a glimmer of hope to others who had yet to find their missing relatives.

"This is taking _forever_," a young woman sitting next to Aleguu whined in a way that was far beneath her nineteen cycles.

Aleguu nodded.

The older girl turned and looked at her younger cousin with a smile. "How are you holding up, 'Leguu? I am surprised that you have stuck around so long."

"Oh, I am terribly bored, Kordata. I wish I had brought something to do like some of the others."

The teenager's eyes lowered to look upon the crowd. Sure enough, many saiyans had brought work with them to do to occupy themselves, having not seen any sense in wasting the time that they would have otherwise spent on their duties anyhow. Seamstresses were repairing clothing. Leather workers were forging armor. Smiths were crafting tools and weapons. The list went on.

Kordata chuckled. "I can not see you committed to any chore for quite so long. You would have long ago abandoned it."

Aleguu scowled, but didn't deny it.

The door to the salarg suddenly opened. The eyes of the gathered crowd snapped to attention. All tasks were immediately forgotten. The representatives filed out first. These were the heads of each of the seventeen family clans and the masters of the eight professions found in Vegetabyl territory, totaling twenty-five representatives. The representatives filed off to the left and right of the salarg's doorway. Once they were clear, a few advisers came into view. These consisted of three scouts who had traveled to and returned from the western lands and two candidates to represent the refugees of the displaced great-tribes, one adviser for each tribe. Next, Shaman Tabos, War-adviser Kailan, Peace-maker Alaria, and Vegeta emerged. The last to exit was Chieftain Tarve.

Immediately, questions erupted from the crowd.

"Are we going to war?"

"Do you know when or if the demons plan to return?"

"What is our plan of attack?"

"How are we going to protect ourselves from the demons?"

Kailan's booming voice cut through the clamor. "BE SILENT! Your questions will all be addressed soon enough!"

Most of the chatter immediately died. The rest slowly dissipated over the course of the next minute. When all had grown quiet and still, Tarve stepped forward to address them.

"It goes without saying that the location of our village has been compromised. Despite our best efforts, the enemy has found us. I had hoped that we would have more time before this would happen. In the end, however, it matters not when we would be discovered; it was inevitable that it would happen eventually.

"While the mountains have thus far protected us from a land invasion, they will not keep the demons at bay forever. Their fliers have the ability to rain fire down upon us at any moment and without any advance notice. While I do not believe that they will do so until their land-crawlers are ready for infiltration, the council and I have come to the conclusion that an invasion by land will come sooner than we had earlier anticipated."

Tarve gestured to one of his advisers, summoning him forward. Aleguu recognized the man as one named Nopal. He was one of the three scouts who had left during the winter to learn the status of the battle at the Steridyl-Bafalyl border. Instead, his traveling companions had returned early with a pack of cold and starving cubs while he continued onward alone. He had only recently returned, having prolonged his ventures in the western territories in order to obtain more information. He observed the enemy from the boundaries of their wrongfully conquered lands, doing everything he could to remain hidden. He had discovered several survivors during his espionage, and had directed them to flee to the mountain pass.

"During my travels, I had plenty of opportunity to witness our enemy's activities," Nopal began. "They are spreading themselves out, claiming more territory for their own. They are transforming the land to suit their needs. So far, there is nothing that can stop them, short of the natural barriers such as the mountains to our north and west. But this will not hold them forever.

"I have seen demon-birds that we had not been aware of prior to this past winter. These are several times larger than their bird-scout and fire-dropper counterparts. As a matter of fact, these new ones are capable of swallowing several dozen of the land-crawlers within its belly and carrying them across vast distances where they then spit the land-crawlers out, unharmed. I would not be surprised if these belly-carriers could fly over the peaks of the mountains and release armies of the land-crawlers upon us."

As Nopal stepped back, a quiet murmuring of concern spread throughout the crowd. But the saiyans quieted again when Alaria spoke up.

"We have spent much time weighing our options as we move forward. Clearly, doing nothing will result with us sharing the same fate as the Karofyl, the Bafalyl, and the Steridyl. As the Chieftain has already said, we can not predict when the demons will return. They may come as early as tomorrow or they may not come for another cycle. But this is not something that we should be complacent about. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to prepare."

"TO WAR THEN!" someone shouted from the crowd, earning a few cheers of agreement.

Kailan smirked at their enthusiasm. Initially, he had shared their same opinions. They should attack the demons before they had a chance to launch an attack on their lands. But those thoughts, he admitted, were hasty and irrational. There was a lot more to to the situation to consider. And knowing that his fellow saiyans would be just as quick to declare war, it was especially important that he, the war-adviser, enlighten them why jumping into battle was not necessarily the best decision, as he had come to realize.

Kailan stepped forward, holding his hands up to still the crowd's overzealousness. When they quieted again, he addressed them.

"Please, do not be hasty. War was definitely an option that we discussed. But please consider the result of our last attempt to engage the enemy. The Steridyl and Bafalyl Great-tribes sent the bulk of their armies towards the frontline. In addition to their battalions, we supplemented them with two hundred of our own warriors. Among these warriors was my own brother Tagaru. Many of you have mates, fathers or mothers, sisters or brothers, uncles or aunts, cousins and friends who also went to the battlefront."

Kailan paused as the villagers absorbed this reminder. Mumbles of acknowledgment burbled among the crowd.

"Despite how bravely our loved ones fought against this terrible enemy, we cannot deny that this excursion against our enemy resulted in complete and utter loss. We were ill informed and poorly prepared to contend with the demons' advanced weapons and vast numbers. It grieves me to say that our warriors will not be returning to us..." Kailan placed his right fist over his left breast and recited, "May Jitaba and Mele judge them worthy to be reunited with our ancestors in Viradisia."

The chieftain, the advisers, the representatives, and almost all of the villagers repeated Kailan's prayer. About a dozen saiyans excused themselves – a few women, mostly children – to grieve in private over the loss of their loved ones. Except for these few, most who had sent a family member to battle had already suspected the worst. Bravely, they remained among the crowd, to hear the rest of what their leaders had to say.

Kailan continued. "The enemy not only overran our best fighters. They also conquered all of Bafalyl territory and ran deep into Steridyl lands. Our fellow great-tribes were with little defense when they were invaded. We must consider the possibility – no, the _inevitability_ – that the same will befall us if we run hastily into battle. We cannot at this time rush to war. We still do not know enough about or enemy to thwart them. We cannot again send our warriors to become fodder for their weapons. We will not put ourselves in a defenseless position."

"Then what _do_ we do?" a man cried out with frustration.

Tarve stepped forward once again and resumed control of the dialogue. "After much debate, we, the council and the representatives, have decided that our best course of action is to retreat."

An outburst of protest surged from the crowd.

"You want us to flee?" yelled one.

"This is our home!" cried another.

"We cannot abandon our land!" declared another.

The chieftain spoke above their outcry. "I understand your sentiments. These lands have been our home for over twelve generations. We were born here. We have raised our young here. We have poured our blood, sweat, and tears into the cultivation and protection of our lands. I empathize with your reluctance to evacuate our ancestral home. But you must also acknowledge that if we remain here, at this time, with what little we know of our enemy, we will not be able to prevent them from destroying us, just as they did with our friends to the west.

"The council and I have decided that we will not force this decision upon you, although we highly recommend that you agree to this plan. We will allow you to discuss among your own family clans and decide whether you wish to leave or stay. But please consider this; what is more important to you? The survival of your siblings? ...your mates? ...your children? Or this plot of land? I ask that you consider the facts and weigh the options wisely. If you wish to try to defy the odds, then no one will stop you."

At this point, Shaman Tabos stepped forward. "In five days, those of you who wish to evacuate will depart for the lands of the Aposyl Great-tribe to our south. Please be ready by then. Of those who wish to stay, I will remain behind to offer you my knowledge and guidance, as I am far too old to make such a long journey."

Tarve made the final statement. "As Shaman Tabos has already said, we will leave for Aposyl territory on the morning of the fifth day from now. Please use this time to make preparations. For those of you who chose to stay, I will pray to the Deities for your protection."

With the end of the meeting, the villagers began to disperse. Already, there were dozens of discussions among many clusters of saiyans about the revelations. There were too many for Aleguu to keep track of as she made her way against the flow of the crowd and towards her father and brother. She caught up with them as they were joined by other members of the Vegetus Clan, undoubtedly to have their own discussion among the members of their family.

As Aleguu wedged herself between Tarve and Vegeta, her father placed a hand on her shoulder as they headed towards their family nesting grounds. They shared no words, but the girl could feel the sentiments echoing from her father and from the rest of their clan through their many shared bonds. The family would stand behind Tarve's decision to evacuate, knowing that it was the wisest course of action. There would be no opposing discussion. Their upcoming meeting would be to solidify plans for their inevitable departure.

* * *

**Story Notes:  
**Colasia – from _colocasia escuelenta_, a tropical plant found in Malaysia, grown for its edible root.  
Jute – from _jute_, a plant grown in Nigeria, its leaves are an ingredient in a Nigerian soup called _ewedu_.  
Rampion – from _rampion_, was a plant that was once grown in Europe and was similar to spinach.  
Sentel – from _centella_, native to the wetlands of Asia, it is commonly used in Sri Lankan dishes.  
Laziu – from _diplazium esculentum_, a fern of Asia, used in salads or deep fried.  
Teridi – from _pteridium esculentum_, or _bracken_, the rhizomes are a staple food in the diet of the Maori of New Zealand.  
Kordata – from _houttuynia cordata_, it grows in many parts of south and east Asia, used as an herb.


End file.
